White sails in the harbor
Crack the water’s placid surface.
As the fiery sun burns the
Red skin of naked bathers
Stretched on clean decks.

Fallen leaves gather in pools
School buses grind their engines
And children clutching lunches
Of bread and pear climb on.
While the corn husks lie, forgotten…

Until the geese come.
Their mournful voices cry on the icy air.
Troubling bare fields
Calling for hunted mates
Whose blood stains the mud-splattered lab.

Rain cleanses the aging earth
Forming tear drops on daffodils
Then the balmy breeze sways
And giddy hearts beat free
While sheets hang on lines behind painted houses.

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A former elementary school teacher, Catherine has also taught writing at Emerson College and ESL writing at Urban College in Boston.  Her poetry is published in literary magazines, including The Dawntreader, Visions with Voices, and Nine Cloud Journal.  Catherine is very passionate about adult literacy.