One Single Impression: Fog
Walking the byroad toward the brook
Past the roadhouse--kept up, I swear,
By the pulse of the neon beer signs
Lighting the slow day for the few men
Who are always inside--
Toward a paper mill no longer standing
But remembered in the name of a dead-end road
Draped in goldenrod and asters and phlox,
A young deer disturbed the silence behind me:
The clap of his hooves against the tar of the oily road
Awoke me from my revery and--
What can I say?--
The scent of wild grapes on a cool September evening
That deer, and slow-building clouds
Left me happy for the vastness of the world
And somehow reminded me of a Thanksgiving
Years ago
When I drove home in a thick fog
That cut me off from the world
And a deer ran along beside me.
I heard him. Felt him. Could not see him
Or anything else.
The solitude we shared was splendid.
It was splendid again on the byroad.
There was no fog.
There was everything. Clearly.
Eye to eye and alone
With all that is wild.
That's wonderful!
ReplyDeleteLovely Sandy My Dear Friend!
ReplyDeletewhat a wonderful experience indeed!!
ReplyDeleteabsolutely delightful prompt...just the range of fun we can have with the word is great!
Sandy: You are so talented, I really enjoyed your writing.
ReplyDeleteJust beautiful, Sandy.. the experience and your poem. Those deer know you're a dear. ;)
ReplyDeleteThe scene was vey vivid in my mind as I read each line. Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThis was quite a visual piece.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy seeing deer in their natural setting.
Never have I been able to understand hunters thrill at killing them for sport.
Talk about a word picture. Wonderful.
ReplyDeleteI can feel it. There is nothing much better than those moments.
ReplyDeleteSandy, a really wonderful image of a serene, quiet, natural scenery.
ReplyDeleteit is a wonderful thing...
ReplyDeleteThere was no fog.
There was everything. Clearly.
Eye to eye and alone
With all that is wild.
ahhhh! beautiful!
Thankfully as the rain pours down here, I can almost feel that experience of the deer trotting along side of you. Fog has a mystical feeling. Like the heavens have come down to envelop the world and soften it.
ReplyDeletethose last four expressions were delightful Sandy! nicely written...
ReplyDeletebtw, the link in the hub at OSI doesn't seem to get to ur post. perhaps u put a wrong link there by mistake?
this poem is beautiful on a purely descriptive level -- the images of your walk (love the roadhouse held up by its signs) with its brilliant colors and sounds, contrasted with the muffled world of fog. But it also works as metaphor! lovely.
ReplyDeleteGreat imagery and linkage between a current and past memory. I really enjoyed this Sandy.
ReplyDeleteWhat a superb poem. Moving and spiritual.
ReplyDeleteWhat a superb poem. Moving and spiritual.
ReplyDeleteLove the vision of the deer running in the fog.
ReplyDeleteA beautiful experience.
ReplyDeleteIt has a potential of a story. I loved the narration.
ReplyDeletewhen my bones stick into yours
thank u for a beautiful poem ..
ReplyDelete( kindly verify ur link at osi - could be an error )
feels like i was with you during those times...
ReplyDeleteInspirational oneness of all that is - really enjoyed this. The final line is so real.
ReplyDeleteYou have such a way with words! I have had that feeling like the deer traveling alongside, and feeling his presence but not seeing him.
ReplyDeleteWow...beautifully captured experience.I liked these lines v.much...."when i drove home in a thick fog that cut me off from the world.....i heard him".
ReplyDeleteThe pictures are superb as ever.
That was eerie, Sandy. I suppose the deer was as surprised as you were, or more. It probably felt threatened as well, feeling similarly like the squirrel that gets run over didn't know which way to turn.
ReplyDelete..
BTW, your corrected link doesn't work. It sends us (manually) to the generic.
..
There are so many areas like that in New England. I drove through one here in New Hampshire today. They usually depress me because of the delapidated buildings and the ghosts of the workers inside. But you have given me a new outlook and it's valuable. There is a vastness. As these mills fall down, they make way for the next growth -- the flowers and animals return.
ReplyDeleteOK .. I got distracted over the links, so I just came here from the link on my page.
ReplyDeleteI had something I wanted to say, but being distracted I almost forgot.
Still, it was a most enjoyable walk, thanks for taking me alone.
Beautiful poem. I love the final 2 lines!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful...and TWO post of the day mentions...hoorah!
ReplyDeleteI have a lump in my throat reading this, Sandy. Beautiful
ReplyDeleteCongrats on Post of the Day nomination not once but twice!
Sandi
Delicious imagery! So deserving of the POTD mention at authorblog. Congratulations.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite lines:
The scent of wild grapes on a cool September evening
That deer, and slow-building clouds
Left me happy for the vastness of the world
Very beautiful!! Congrats on the Post of the Day Award!!
ReplyDeleteOoh a double mention for you from David... very well deserved, my friend. Congrats. :)
ReplyDeleteI really like this. Thanks for sharing it with us.
ReplyDeleteAtmospheric mists create a hushed sacred moment... which brings us back to the lush clarity of now. I love the delicate invocation.
ReplyDeleteThis is exquisite.
A story which is equally gorgeous in its descriptive quality as well as the deeper yearning it touches.
ReplyDeleteA word picture. Beautiful. Thanks for sharing it. And congrats on the POTD mention!
ReplyDeleteMoving piece. I really mean that. I'm not a poet and don't have the words to describe it, but it gave me shivers and a lump in my throat. Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your mention in POTD.
I can just picture this happening - and I love the idea that you couldn't see the deer but knew he was there~ Great poem!
ReplyDelete