'...we bend with the season: 

shoes to polish for a big game, 

storm windows to batten or patch. 

And how like a field is the whole sky now 

that the maples have shed their leaves, too. 

It makes us believers—stationed in groups, 

leaning on rakes, looking into space. We rub blisters 

over billows of leaf smoke. Or stand alone, 

bagging gold for the cold days to come.'

From David Baker's 'Neighbors in October,' in The Truth about Small Towns (University of Arkansas Press, 1988).

Bend and Gather

Nikon FE2, 50mm