All Is Not Well in the Garden
After William Carlos William, The Act

by Angela Hoffman


There were ground bees in the garden. 
We have to get rid of them, I shouted. 
That’s impossible once they’ve dug deep in the rot, he replied.  
How will I reap the time I’ve put in? How will I pick my beets?
Males have no stingers. They just use intimidation, he quipped. 
And he turned and walked away.  


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Angela Hoffman’s poetry collections include Resurrection Lily and Olly Olly Oxen Free (Kelsay Books). She placed third in the WFOP Kay Saunders Memorial Emerging Poet in 2022. Her work is widely published. She has written a poem a day since the start of the pandemic. Angela lives in rural Wisconsin.