Found Poetry: An Herbal Remedy Imagined

After watching the state of things. 

Echinacea Purpurea *
Purple Rudbeckia.
Prefers rocky, disturbed soils–
(souls).
Used at length by Native Americans
for more ailments
than any other plant:
herbal smudge,
smoke,
the leaf or root.
Supporting,
depurative–
purifying for situations,
swellings.
Or distemper**–
an infectious disease,
a deranged condition
of mind
or body,
a feverish disturbance
of political nature
(though far from natural).
The purple coneflower,
an herbal remedy imagined.
Fresh,
dried,
tinctured,
encapsulated.
All the rage
closed down.

* Echinacea Purpurea on Mountain Rose Herbs
** Distemper, the definition.