SOLC Day 17: Fog

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March 2025 SOLC–Day 17
A huge thank you to Two Writing Teachers for all that they do to create an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write, learn, share and grow.
http://www.twowritingteachers.org

On Sunday morning, I woke to fog. Air drenched with moisture. The world leached of color. All shadow and nuance.

The presence of fog creates absence. Fog suspends time, masking the advance of the day. It mutes the hum of distant traffic. Softens bird song. Fog is an audible hush. It creates a new space within existing space, blurring boundaries, circling inward. It poses questions about beginnings and endings. It elevates the ordinary into something more, something mystical. Fog prickles our senses. And, even as it blurs contours, fog brings the world into focus. Fog creates absence that opens up space for more presence.

So I left my desk, stepped out into the morning, and into the fog.

Who am I to deny an otherworldly invitation?

Pause

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This April, Renee LaTulippe of No Water River is hosting a wonderful month of poet visits and writing prompts. I’ve been lurking mainly, but a prompt from Margarita Engle caught my eye. She asked poets to write about making a choice, either simple or complex. Here’s one I made recently on the way home from work.

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Pause

Driving home last night
I chose to pause
to pull over on the berm
then sit and watch as
four slender deer
foraged in the misty fields
while cars whizzed by
buffeting me with their wake

Last night
I chose to linger
while deer peacefully grazed
stepping through
tendrils of languid fog
that drifted and twined about them
concealing
revealing
as the world rushed by
and dusk descended.

© 2018 M. Hogan

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