FIELD OF AUTUMN
Slow moves the acid breath of noon
over the copper-coated hill,
slow from the wild crab’s bearded breast
the palsied apples fall.
Like coloured smoke the day hangs fire,
taking the village without sound;
the vulture-headed sun lies low
chained to the violet ground.
The horse upon the rocky height
rolls all the valley in his eye,
but dares not raise his foot or move
his shoulder from the fly.
The sheep, snail-backed against the wall,
lifts her blind face but does not know
the cry her blackened tongue gives forth
is the first bleat of snow.
Each bird and stone, each roof and well,
feels the gold foot of autumn pass;
each spider binds with glittering snare
the splintered bones of grass.
Slow moves the hour that sucks our life,
slow drops the late wasp from the pear,
the rose tree’s thread of scent draws thin –
and snaps upon the air.
Laurie Lee ~ 1945
Leaves & Pages 
Is there any metaphors in this poem? Ive been asked to identify one for an essay and I cant find any!!
Oh yes, finding metaphor. A number to choose from here, I think. Does this definition help?
met·a·phor: a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable.
““I had fallen through a trapdoor of depression,” said Mark, who was fond of theatrical metaphors”
synonyms: figure of speech, image, trope, analogy, comparison, symbol, word painting/picture
So, looking at the poem, what is compared to something it isn’t really, as it were?
First lines:
Slow moves the acid breath of noon
over the copper-coated hill…
Can “noon” – an abstract concept defining a time of day – literally breathe? Aha!
And here:
Each bird and stone, each roof and well,
feels the gold foot of autumn pass…
Another abstract sort of element – “autumn”, which is merely a description for a time of year – does it have a body? Does it literally have a foot? Hmmm…
There are a few more here that you will no doubt be able to figure out, but these should get you going. 🙂