Margaret Hasse Verse-Virtual 2017 April

April 2017

I grew up in Vermillion, South Dakota, and was educated at Stanford University (B.A., English) and the University of Minnesota (M.A., English). I started writing poetry when I was a child and never stopped. For the past thirty years, I’ve lived in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where I teach and consult with arts organizations on their plans and programs. Over the years, I’ve been fortunate in receiving some awards for my poetry, including a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship. My fifth book of poetry, Between Us, was released in 2016. Visit my website at www.MargaretHasse.com

Writer’s Ritual on a Winter Night

The outside hour is coloring snow a blue
that absorbs light and all signs of day.
Windows mirror; my face is what I view.
I turn off lights, stare out, then look away
in liminal state of shadow. I search and find
my fountain pen with chevron nib, and dip
a dark India ink. Nothing comes to mind.
I’m blank as paper, unlined and still. I strip
my desk of books and move the flower vase
to bare the beauty and open wide my heart.
My feet are cold. I find my socks and pace
around my desk, say: now sit, just start.
Describing crisscrossed tracks in snow,
the marks on paper lead where I must go.

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