In this autumn poem written after Louise Glück, Kathie Collins waits for the goldfinches to return as the maples drop their last saffron leaves
by Kathie Collins | illustration by Mary T. Peterson
After her children grew up and left their house in the city, Kathie Collins moved to a gorgeous slice of wooded farmland near the Yadkin River in East Bend, where she spends many hours communing with the birds and her overpacked bookshelves. She is co-founder and creative director of the Charlotte Center for Literary Arts and editor-in-chief of Charlotte Lit Press. “Among the surprises of getting older is my attachment to the birds, especially the goldfinches, with whom I share a meadow and the woodland beyond. Late nesters, most of the goldfinches fly off in late October, a sight that leaves me bereft. Thankfully, a few of these tiny bright stars change into dark winter coats and overwinter, never too far from the feeder.”
Mary T. Peterson came to North Carolina in 1988 with a newly-diagnosed diabetic baby, a four-year-old son, and a husband who would be the new pastor of a church in Garner, North Carolina. ”We didn’t have much money but we were rich in love. Because love sacrifices for the loved ones, most of my time was spent serving my family. Each one of them lived with a medical challenge that had to be dealt with. In small bits of time for myself, I would paint bright watercolors that had meaning to me and my life. These artworks are filled with the thoughts and feelings of a specific place and time. Please take time to discover what each artwork has to say. And enjoy the bright watercolors. There is no other medium like it!”
This poem originally appeared in the October 2026 issue of WALTER magazine.
