Gretchen Marquette

Gretchen Marquette earned her MFA in poetry from Hamline University, where she served as the assistant poetry editor for Water~Stone Review. Her work has appeared in Harper's, Tin House, Poetry, the Paris Review, and other places. Her first book, May Day, was released by Graywolf Press in 2016, and was nominated for a Minnesota Book Award. She lives in the Powderhorn neighborhood in South Minneapolis, and teaches at various colleges and universities in the Twin Cities.

Want

When I was twelve, I wanted a macaw

but they cost hundreds of dollars.

If we win the lottery? I asked.

Macaws weren’t known to be great talkers,

but they were affectionate.

Yes, my mother said. If we win the lottery.

 I was satisfied, so long as it wasn’t impossible.

The macaw would be blue. 

— Gretchen Marquette