The Untied Stales

of America, my daughter

has written above the map

of the lower forty-eight,

transposing two letters,

forgetting to cross one t,

the map itself colored in

a little sloppily, dark crayon

spilling in from Mexico,

and bleeding into Canada,

and how perfect is that?

Paul Hostovsky’s poems appear and disappear simultaneously (ta-da!). His new collection is Perfect Disappearances (2025).