Ashore and Off Shore

Ashore and Off Shore

Half awake, not yet dawn, I hear

the low moan of the mournful

groan of the fog horn. Seven seconds on,

seven seconds off, the horn warns

sailors and lets us ashore know of

sea mist.

The pleasing scent of the fog permeates,

the dawn light exposes

a world without shadows,

a landscape of soft color outlines.

Deadened sounds of nature and

of human actions add to the fog's

mystique creating a rare, strange stillness.

Slowly the fog breaks up, the bright colors,

the clear sounds and far vistas return.

For a while a curious domain showed itself,

now the other reality is back.