“Fog’s magic,” a poem by Howard Myers

Photo by Steve Wall

Howard Myers, whose poem “Spring Rituals” was published in the Friends’ spring newsletter, has sent another beauty over. Notice how the scene and the narrative slowly emerge, as if from a heavy wilderness fog.

Fog’s Magic

By Howard Myers

Soft light, diffused and filtered,
   From unseen source.
Sounds, scents, magnified
   With mystic force.

Hanging low in morning calm,
   The fog’s soft cloak.
Drifting out from perch unseen,
   A raven’s croak.

Breathless, over water’s surface,
   Our wake’s soft voice.
Magic silence, guarded safely,
   The paddlers’ choice.

Heading in to crescent shoreline,
   Now close at hand.
Softly in the fragile quiet,
   Canoe on sand.

Unveiled at last, the portage trail
   Through mist appears.
Leads to timeless ways of knowing
   The spirit hears.

Howard Myers is a retired educator. He spent college summers as canoe guide in the BWAC/Quetico. In July 1962 he teamed with his brother George in the first Ely-Atikokan canoe derby.