"September" by Linda Pastan

"A Shepherd and his Flock" Jasper Francis Cropsey (1823-1900)

it rained in my sleep

and in the morning the fields were wet

I dreamed of artillery

of the thunder of horses

in the morning the fields were strewn

with twigs and leaves

as if after a battle

or a sudden journey

I went to sleep in the summer

I dreamed of rain

in the morning the fields were wet

and it was autumn

"September" by Linda Pastan from Carnival Evening. © W.W. Norton & Company, 2009.