towpath in the rain after Verona Beach

towpath in the rain after Verona Beach

there were turtles
everywhere along the path,

negotiating steep banks
and brush to lay eggs
in the rough soil.

rain brought them up
from water,
glowing-green algae shells
iridescent
there in the cloud-light
of late morning
summer storm.

somewhere they were
categorized and Latinized
across pages
by genus, species,

but there, at egg time,
they inched
along
quietly,

content to be slow
and wet.

              (biking along the Erie Canal, summer of 2001)