Angela Hoffman

Maker, lover, keeper of all things

There is so much in the news that breaks your heart.

I’ve long stopped chasing the extra-ordinary,

but wonder now if it’s even appropriate to celebrate

the ordinary. Happiness seems too foreboding,

yet here I am again leaning into vulnerability,

so that I might hear sorrow and joy

play their layered chords.

There it is: the wind rustling the the dead leaves to life,

the slanting sun speaking intimately in morse code;

flickering, shedding light

on the tiny acorn held in my palm.

What can this be?

Angela Hoffman lives in Wisconsin. With her retirement from teaching and the pandemic coinciding, she took to writing poetry. Her poetry has been widely published. Angela’s collections include Resurrection Lily 2022, Olly Olly Oxen Free 2023, and Hold the Contraries, forthcoming 2024 (Kelsay Books).