She first published at age 90 and was the first Poet Laureate of Worcester.

To read an interview

     gifts

long fingers
of the sun
touch peaks
foothills
color all lavender
flowers rocks

falling water
later turns
the palest pink
and at dusk
boulders
become wild goats
descending

my hands
against barbed wire

     rising from fire

the next time i
would not bury
you  under the tall
tulip tree in april
i would wait for
fall and wind to
carry your ashes
south like a flock of
gray birds hungry
for the sun

Gertrude Halstead was born in Germany in 1916. She escaped to France where during where during the war she was interned in Camp Gurs in the south of France. She volunteered as an interpreter and escaped by having the French authorities sign her release papers. She eventually made her way to Portugal where she was able to get passage on the last passenger ship, Excalibur, leaving for the United States. Her first book memories like        burrs was published by Adastra Press, She was awarded Outstanding Achievement in Poetry, 2006, from UMass/Dartmouth
 

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