I stared into the valley: it was gone—
wholly submerged! A vast flat sea remained,
gray, with no waves, no beaches; all was one.
wholly submerged! A vast flat sea remained,
gray, with no waves, no beaches; all was one.
And here and there I noticed, when I strained,
the alien clamoring of small, wild voices:
birds that had lost their way in that vain land.
the alien clamoring of small, wild voices:
birds that had lost their way in that vain land.
And high above, the skeletons of beeches,
as if suspended, and the reveries
of ruins and of the hermit’s hidden reaches.
as if suspended, and the reveries
of ruins and of the hermit’s hidden reaches.
And a dog yelped and yelped, as if in fear,
I knew not where nor why. Perhaps he heard
strange footsteps, neither far away nor near—
I knew not where nor why. Perhaps he heard
strange footsteps, neither far away nor near—
echoing footsteps, neither slow nor quick,
alternating, eternal. Down I stared,
but I saw nothing, no one, looking back.
alternating, eternal. Down I stared,
but I saw nothing, no one, looking back.
The reveries of ruins asked: “Will no
one come?” The skeletons of trees inquired:
“And who are you, forever on the go?”
one come?” The skeletons of trees inquired:
“And who are you, forever on the go?”
I may have seen a shadow then, an errant
shadow, bearing a bundle on its head.
I saw—and no more saw, in the same instant.
shadow, bearing a bundle on its head.
I saw—and no more saw, in the same instant.
All I could hear were the uneasy screeches
of the lost birds, the yelping of the stray,
and, on that sea that lacked both waves and beaches,
of the lost birds, the yelping of the stray,
and, on that sea that lacked both waves and beaches,
the footsteps, neither near nor far away.
The view from my office window this morning was of the remaining marine layer of fog over downtown San Jose. It seems like it should be fall or even bordering winter here - certainly not what you'd expect for the middle of August. We've had a very unusual summer if you could even call it that - we've had very few days of real California summer weather (which is fine with me, as anyone can tell you, I hate the heat and burn in the sun).
We are apparently due for a minor heat wave toward the end of this week. In the meantime, enjoy these beautiful offerings from our friends at Etsy inspired by the beauty of fog:
Potion Bottle: Swamp Fog
by NchantedForests
Roses in a fog
by 0juracoquet
by NchantedForests
Roses in a fog
by 0juracoquet
by heartworksbylori
by OreadImages
by LabyrinthineNature
by TheKnittedLoop
And of course, I would be remiss if I bypassed the opportunity to illustrate fog's beauty on our most beloved (and fog-soaked) of landmarks: