Feral Shoot   

by Angela Hoffman


We stood amid a riot of zinnias, snapping photos.
At first we were awkward, our poses rigid.
Unsure of where to put our arms, we left them 
dangling. 
We forced smiles, all proper. 

But under the untamed blue of the sky, with nudges from bees,
we captured the warmth, and our hearts began to remember
what we had forgotten; what we were be-gotten for, 
and about frivolity, instinct, 
times when life seemed more possible,
and we raised our chins, spread our arms all feral, leapt with ease, 
the way we were meant to be, with smiles wide and wild
for the days we find ourselves domesticated 
all over again. 


* * * * *

Angela Hoffman’s poetry collections include Resurrection Lily and Olly Olly Oxen Free (Kelsay Books). Her work has been widely published. She writes a poem a day. Angela lives in Wisconsin.