River

He was steady,
she told me,
like a rock.

I was only a child
but I wanted
to say a man
is not a rock.

I myself would
have preferred
a man who was
like a river,
changing
and quick,
always
a surprise.

— Alice Hoffman, "The Red Garden"

Doe

She thought of deer
and how they slipped
through the woods,

invisible,

as if they were
ghosts themselves.

— Alice Hoffman, "The Red Garden"

Emily

She liked to disappear,
even when she was
in the same room
as other people.

— Alice Hoffman, "The Red Garden"

Smart

She was also
extremely
bright,

the only one
in town who
could write

a poem.

— Alice Hoffman, "The Red Garden"