FOG CARVES TIME

Rachel Baum

the train keeps the Hudson on its right 
but the river is gone somewhere beneath 
a dense fog the mist has taken the horizon 
with it the edge of every tree is blurred 
or lost autumn subdues the leaves rather 
than brightening them my mother used 
to say that the sun burns away fog 
she waited for my father to tuck two twenty 
dollar bills under her placemat but I don’t 
believe fog is captive I don’t believe 
in privileged expectation fog is elegant 
fog is a shroud fog is deliberate it captures 
the morning adjusts the day decides 
when sky and water should meet should hold 
each other in a linear embrace fog carves time 
into the earth fog asserts its will over valleys 
fog reveals mountains exposes landscape 
arguments fog chooses when to leave.

Rachel R. Baum is a Best of the Net nominated poet. She is the editor of Funeral and Memorial Service Readings Poems and Tributes (McFarland, 1999). Her poems have appeared in The Phare, Raven’s Perch, OneArt, and Jewish Literary Review, among others. She founded the Saratoga Peace Pod, 60 crafters who create warm items for families in crisis. For more information: https://www.rachelrbaum.net.