for Michael Hofmann


I

Everything’s a couple sizes bigger: a sky
Cutting deep into the streets, hydrants
As hefty as the heads of oxen, the country’s flag
Flapping like a heavy sheet in the sea wind,
An ice truck parked outside the cathedral.
You open up your eyes and you are in—
America. Beside you sits a Mexican
Reading a paperback on the bus: In God’s Hand.
Everything’s a couple sizes bigger, and Peter Pan
Is always humming in your ear, little Karl.