Cynthia Marie Hoffman
What I Can Control Versus What I Can't
Bus crash. Shark attack.
The actions of other people.
Time enough for this moist sprout to harden
and scale over with bark.
Ladybugs piling up on the windowsill.
Dogs at the gate with their tongues out.
A flame like a scoop of sherbet licked to a point.
An orange peel.
This bird on one foot.
Whether someone puts a bag over their head.
Whether it’s someone I love.
Mold on the peel like frost.
Whether the note folds carefully into the jewelry box.
Whether the note, torn to pieces, flurries into the bin.
Your house is on fire. Your children
burn. Ink on the surface of a snowflake.
If I grow old. If I grow old without you.
Squirrels nest in the branch that was once a weed.
The sun sets.
The blade is sharp.
The morning glory closes the soft tunnel of its face.
Cynthia Marie Hoffman is the author of four collections of poetry: Exploding Head, Call Me When You Want to Talk about the Tombstones, Paper Doll Fetus, and Sightseer, all from Persea Books. She is the recipient of fellowships from the Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing, Civitella Ranieri Foundation, and the Wisconsin Arts Board. Essays in TIME, The Sun, Lit Hub, and elsewhere. Poems in Electric Literature, The Believer, The Los Angeles Review, and elsewhere. Cynthia lives in Madison, WI. www.cynthiamariehoffman.com.
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