Mark Strand(b. 1934)
The Prediction
T h a t n i g h t t h e m o o n drifted over t h e p o n d ,
t u r n i n g t h e w a t e r t o milk, a n d u n d e r
t h e b o u g h s o f t h e trees, t h e b l u e trees,
a y o u n g w o m a n w a l k e d , a n d for an i n s t a n t
t h e f u t u r e c a m e to her:
rain falling on h e r h u s b a n d ' s grave, rain falling
on the lawns of her children, her own mouth
filling with cold air, strangers moving into her house,
a man in her room writing a poem, the moon drifting into it,
a woman strolling under its trees, thinking of death,
thinking of him thinking of her, and the wind rising
and taking the moon and leaving the paper dark.