a piece of her earthly
temple to be held
for eternity
or until rocks and roots shatter
the glass
and wind and rain blend it into
clay
by her precious
Homer Laughlin—
instead, finding pieces
for my new home—
hot damn Orlando
summer, cold winter
tourists
land-locked
a dinner plate here,
a saucer there.
each one a story
a haggle
each one a price
a bargain
Sunset pierces through
the kitchen just right
ricochet around
butcher-wood counters
to show a feisty,
fiery, blood-orange.
the kind of feisty she aspired to be
a teapot
We could just seal
the spout with tape.
Seal her
Trap her
Ashes to ashes
with tape
✶✶✶✶
Maria Hofman-Hernandez is a first-generation Salvadoran-American poet. Although she was raised in South Florida and earned her first degree in English from the University of Central Florida, Maria moved to the mountains of North Carolina after completing her Master in Fine Arts from Spalding University. As part of her baccalaureate and graduate programs, she also studied literature and writing at Cambridge University in England and Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. Maria currently works in higher education while pursuing her EdD in Educational Leadership from Appalachian State University. Her creative work is featured in independent presses and literary magaizines in both the United States and England.
Another Chicago Magazine 