Caress the Solitaire

by Margaret Swart

Margaret Swart

Margaret Swart has a B.A. degree in Communication Arts with a minor in Photography. She is mother to five, grandmother to fourteen, and great-grandmother to three. She lived in Fairbanks, Alaska, from 1953 to 1981, returning in 2014 to live solo in the last frontier, where every day is inspired by natural wonders like moose and willow ptarmigan in her front yard. Poetry has been her lifelong medium of expression. It is the palette upon which she paints her emotions, especially the inexplicable ones.

praise for Caress the Solitaire

Caress the Solitaire gives form to the formlessness of loss – in this case, the poet’s loss of her beloved husband. Yes, these poems confront sorrow and longing, but more so, they illuminate a pathway to remembrance. Margaret Swart writes with beauty, honesty, and urgency. Her images are clear like spring water, her language as piercing as larch needles.

- Joseph Holt, author of Golden Heart Parade

Margaret Swart has a visceral, deeply rooted understanding of loss, coupled with catharsis, and paints graceful, poignant pictures with her words. This collection will provide solace to all of us who have suffered from bereavement. As Swart says, “call it what it is, a tiger chewing on old bones.”

- Scotty Sexton, poet and editor of Sharing Reflections: a collection of poems