Thursday, November 22, 2012

Driving through the Fog


Driving through the fog
this morning.

Visibility
is less than 100 feet
in any direction.
I can’t see where I’m going.
It’s all just white
like a blank canvas.

Shadows grow into dark shapes
that suggest
things ahead:
trees, houses, telephone poles.
But I can’t really see
anything
until I’m almost to it,
and I never know
which way
the road will take me.

In my rearview mirror
(which isn’t much bigger
than a photograph)
I see those things
that are behind me.
As I get further
past,
details become hazy
and colors fade.
Soon,
there are just phantoms
slipping into the fog.

Looking back
won’t get me anywhere
but in the ditch.
Since I’m uncertain about
what’s ahead,
I slow up.

There’s still a ways to go
so I look around
and think about
my plans for the day.
As well as I am able,
I pass the time
that is left
and continue

through the fog.