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.