m. f. nagel
(Alaska 1944)
In the absence of snow
Take the north road to the village
Follow the three-legged Dog Star.
Find
The village of old men and salmon heads
Go to the fish house
Learn to cook fish
In the absence of snow
You are water
Frozen and thawed
Holy water
Hauled from the river.
You are winter
Reconsidered
In the absence of snow.
***
m.f. nagel was born in anchorage Alaska, her love of poetry is a gift shared, from her Athabaskan and Eyak heritage. m.f. now lives and writes near the banks of the Matanuska river in the Palmer Butte, Alaska, where the moose, wild dog~roses and salmonberries provide unending joy and inspiration.