William Carlos Williams

I HEAR AN ARMY

I hear an army charging upon the land,

And the thunder of horses plunging; foam about their knees:

Arrogant, in black armour, behind them stand,

Disdaining the rains, with fluttering whips, the Charioteers.

They cry into the night their battle name:

I moan in sleep when I hear afar their whirling laughter.

They cleave the gloom of dreams, a blinding flame,

Clanging, clanging upon the heart as upon an anvil.