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How to fall in love with fog

August 16, 2015 By Carol Cassara 13 Comments

Boat sideways bay The thing about San Francisco is that it has countless faces … and many moods. I’ve been there innumerable times when the sky was inescapably blue and the sunshine as golden as the hills. But I think I appreciate the City most in the fog, when its mood and romance envelope us.  The other Saturday was just such a day. We decided to take our house guest to cruise the bay for a couple hours on a Red & White Fleet trip that took us from the shore to the Golden Gate Bridge to the Bay Bridge and back.

On our way to the Golden Gate we headed straight into the cold wind on choppy waters outbound from Fog City. We walked out on the deck and tried to keep our balance on the rolling boat as we surveyed the grey world around us.  Beautiful.
Skyline fog
Against the monochromatic ocean and sky, the skyline looked like a black and white photo.

Best Alca
Like the fortress it is, Alcatraz stood like a sentry guarding the City, the bridge, who knows what?  I stared at the waves as they beat cold and relentless against the boat’s hull and wondered if those two escapees really made it to shore all those years ago. San Francisco Bay waters are teeth-chatteringly cold and so treacherous. How could they have survived? Just another unsolved mystery in this, the most mysterious of our country’s cities.

2015-08-08 12.56.28
As we made the turn we cruised under the Golden Gate bridge. I’d never been so close to it. I marveled that painting the bridge is a year-round activity — the painters begin at one end and when they reach the other, do the whole thing again. Imagine that mind-numbing job at great heights, facing winds that can be as high as 100 mph.

Since the first time I saw it, San Francisco has always spoken to me, sometimes in whispers, sometimes in shouts.  It’s a less foggy city now than it was 60 years ago, thanks to global warming…scientists say some 33 percent less fog, now.  It’s a shame, I think, and hard to believe there may come a day when we won’t wear the City’s fog as a romantic cloak, that we might not be able to draw inspiration from the mist that cloaks us.

I write poetry only rarely, but an early morning of walking around alone in the fog inspired this 2004 poem that was published in 2011.

City of Spirits

In an alley behind a bookstore in North Beach
the ghost of Jack Kerouac
walks
restless
through a pungent veil of incense
whispering whispering
walk to the edge
Spirits haunt these streets
listen closely for their whispers
beneath the clang of cable cars
Behind the gates of Chinatown
mystics stir potions, conjure
wisdom
sage advice
for those who can hear
In the colorless dawn chill
wet mist
puddled on walkways
dries in the rising sun
Spirits slip behind shadows
to sleep

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Trippin' Tagged With: California, San Francisco

Comments

  1. Lisa Froman says

    August 16, 2015 at 11:10 am

    Oh, you are making me want to go back to San Francisco! Beautiful pics….and it really is a lovely city. The view from Alcatrez is equally as stunning as the one from the city. I wonder how hard it was for the inmates to see that view and know it was only miles across the water but completely out of reach.

    Loved your poem, too!

    Reply
    • Carol Cassara says

      August 16, 2015 at 4:06 pm

      I hope you return soon, Lisa.

      Reply
  2. Mary-Anne at Breathing Life says

    August 16, 2015 at 12:22 pm

    Ahh, beautiful post. I am right there with you.
    The poem is gorgeous.
    Mary-Anne at Breathing Life recently posted…Socks from one hemisphere to anotherMy Profile

    Reply
    • Carol Cassara says

      August 16, 2015 at 4:06 pm

      I appreciate it!

      Reply
  3. Angie says

    August 16, 2015 at 1:32 pm

    This was a wonderful piece to read this afternoon. Your poem is lovely, but your writing is most poetic as well…

    Reply
    • Carol Cassara says

      August 16, 2015 at 1:35 pm

      Aww, thanks!

      Reply
  4. michelle says

    August 16, 2015 at 10:10 pm

    The photos are amazing and I LOVE LOVE LOVE the poem!
    michelle recently posted…Release The Menses MagicMy Profile

    Reply
  5. Lux says

    August 17, 2015 at 3:47 am

    That’s a really beautiful poem, Carol. I’ve never been to this city but it sure looks nice.
    Lux recently posted…5 Reasons To Love Michael JacksonMy Profile

    Reply
  6. Janie Emaus says

    August 17, 2015 at 10:54 am

    I love the fog and I love your poem.

    Reply
  7. Diane says

    August 17, 2015 at 3:59 pm

    I love San Francisco! Amazing city. It’s been far too long since I was there. I love fog! It’s so . . . quite. Like when snow is falling heavily. It seems to close you into your own little world.
    Beautiful poem! I can just picture the spirits slipping behind the shadows to sleep. Shivery good!
    Diane recently posted…Book ContestMy Profile

    Reply
  8. Rena McDaniel says

    August 19, 2015 at 10:34 am

    Of all of the places I’ve traveled San Francisco is and will always be my favorite city!
    Rena McDaniel recently posted…VIOLET IODINE THE RECAP! #HugsShoudntHurtMy Profile

    Reply
  9. Collin Goepfert says

    September 3, 2015 at 9:10 am

    Making this connection between the two states of being may provide insight into some of the commonly reported experiences associated with falling in love. For example, the similarity between the two states may explain why new love prompts us to float and flit between our daily activities with a certain glow, bursting with vitality and charged with energy, all while whistling a cheerful tune.

    Reply
  10. Anne Louise Bannon says

    September 16, 2015 at 1:38 am

    I’m so glad my daughter lives in San Francisco. It’s such a great city. Your pics are lovely and I really like the poem.

    Reply

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Carol-hat-EldersenseYour visit may make you laugh, think or expand a point of view. It might inform, inspire or even push some buttons. You’ll find intriguing discussions of spirituality as well as new ideas of all kinds.  You’ll also find some of the smartest commenters on the web. You don't have to agree with me either--all views respectfully expressed are welcome. So if something resonates with you in any way, don't hesitate to comment! Thank you for stopping by--oh, and why not subscribe so you don't miss a post?

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