Winter Pasture
By Don Thompson

The shepherd’s holed up in a travel trailer,
battered and off-kilter,
with a muddy, hangdog dog
outside. Unoccupied.

 

But she can scent coyote
half a county away
and that unseen shepherd
has a 12 gauge discourager.

 

At night he sits in the dark,
lonely, cellphone battery low,
desperate to make
one quick call to Peru

 

Early September

Summer, recalcitrant, insists
on three figure afternoons
despite the chill mornings lately.

 

This is when you learn to wait.

To keep close watch on oak leaves—
how they turn gray-green
and then darker,

 

as if preferring black
to those hackneyed autumn colors
you’re so eager to see.

 

Don Thompson from U.S., has been writing about the San Joaquin Valley for over fifty years, including a dozen books and chapbooks. A San Joaquin Almanac won the Eric Hoffer Award for 2021 in the chapbook category.