Author Archives: Dale Hobson

The Open Field

This feels like the first real North Country winter we’ve had in years. Five or six falls of powder without a thaw. Temperatures below zero at night. Not just coat weather, but scarf and mittens and boots. I prefer to … Continue reading

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Cold Snap

Some of this comes from an older poem that sort of petered out unsatisfactorily. I decided it needed a second person and a touch of mortality. Cold Snap All night as we lay sleeping snow came down,the way time accumulates … Continue reading

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Cloudy 2025

My resolution for the NewYear is to get together with other poets and artists more. I’ve been having a dry spell since I finished my manuscript “The Other Village.” Before I retired, I had a weekly writing assignment to keep … Continue reading

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Dismantling

If you have watched the progress of the laborious construction of an intricate Tibetan sand mandala, seeing it be swept away can be a little traumatic. “No! Wait! Oh well–so it goes.” I. The Mandala Grain by grain the monks … Continue reading

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Early in May

There’s something about trillium. They are a near obsession with me and I return to them over and over in my writing. It may just be the physical and emotional constraints of winter being lifted from the shoulders. But I … Continue reading

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Unsharpening

Macular degeneration: it’s a classic example of “Some blessings are harder to give thanks for than others.” Failing vision prompted me to retire as a web editor sooner than I might have otherwise. And my previous careers in publication design … Continue reading

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False Start

I’ve written about my poetry “junk drawer” before, how it is sometimes possible to weld pieces together into something good (or good enough, anyway). But no matter how often those unlikely mashups occur, the junk drawer seems to stay as … Continue reading

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Gratitude

There is a cruel streak in American culture that recognizes the utility of keeping people insecure, that wields power by making sure that the bottom is as far down as possible, and that there is no sure way to avoid … Continue reading

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Open Winter

I don’t often sweat the big picture. I’m more focused on the small and nearby. But some nights I don’t sleep well and then night thoughts connect the dots for me and I hear the voice of Afrofuturist poet and … Continue reading

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The Tenzo Teaches Baka to Sit

A change from the usual–a little short fiction that arose as a prolonged daydream I had while I should have been counting my breaths as a novice meditator during my first three-day sesshin at the zen center. The Tenzo Teaches … Continue reading

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