Between Us

In " Between Us" Margaret Hasse brings her distinctively lyrical voice to bear on a range of experiences and states of being. She writes with precision and surprise about connections with both the natural world and with people. The events Hasse writes about are often familiar--riding a bike, knitting a scarf, downsizing possessions--but they're transformed by her sensitivity to the tender interior, the nuance of emotion, the overlooked but essential detail. Hasse also explores life's difficulties and damage--the loss of a long-time friendship, a student who cuts herself, a shocking kidnapping--in poems that carry a somber or anguished tone. In poems about camping and hiking in the wilderness, we hear the song of invisible birds and the communal hum of insects. In " Near Easter," where deer appear with their "black-walnut eyes" to graze new grass, Hasse concludes: " Today I believe everything." Such expressions of unexpected joy are one of the hallmarks of the collection.