Obfuscation

Fog blows in, a gasp
of winter from the coast,
muffles the shame of trees
scantily clothed in withered leaves.

Footsteps ring hollow on the path,
insipid shadows teeter into view
and disappear into the periphery,
stirred into the murky brew.

Sodium yellow glows from the village store,
disperses into shades of nicotine
filter-tipped with autumn hoar
and promises of warmth within.

I push open the tinkling door,
inhale newspaper ink and bread.
I exhale morning and my glasses mist,
clearing the fog that’s in my head.

Kim M. Russell, 2017

Romance and Sea Mist

My response to Imaginary Garden with Real Toads Fireblossom Friday: The Distorted Lens

Shay has another Fireblossom Friday writing challenge for us and she says that this time we’re putting our faces right up to the eyepiece and looking at things through a distorted lens. She wants us to think about what happens if we can’t trust our senses or our mind’s ability to interpret what they convey, and write from the point of view of someone who is seeing reality through a distorted lens. 

64 thoughts on “Obfuscation”

  7. Loving the read here, Kim. “… Sodium ‘yellow glows‘ from the village store, disperses into shades of nicotine filter-tipped with autumn hoar … ” Yes, a “the murky brew” indeed. No wonder the poor soul’s glasses fogged,
    This reminds me of when I lived in El Paso (Texas), at the foothills of the mountain. We could see the valley below, a ‘yellow fog‘ hung over that part of the city until almost noon, It was a sulfur laced smog created by the refineries.
    ..

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    1. Thanks Jim. I know very little about Texas, apart from what I’ve seen in the movies and on TV. I’ve never seen anything about yellow fog. But when I lived in Germany and worked in Leverkusen, the Bayer factory used to belch out toxic fumes most days.

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  18. I so enjoyed hearing you read this poem tonight, Kim 😍 the second time round I feel more inclined toward this image; “Sodium yellow glows from the village store, disperses into shades of nicotine filter-tipped with autumn hoar and promises of warmth within.” Gorgeous write ❤️❤️

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    1. Thank you, Sanaa. I enjoyed reading it. I have been revisiting poems for OLN Live, sometimes I rewrite, sometimes I leave them as they were. I’d completely forgotten about this one!

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  26. I enjoyed hearing you read this yesterday, Kim. So many evocative lines.
    In particular, I love:

    “muffles the shame of trees
    scantily clothed in withered leaves.”
    The nicotine sky, and “I exhale morning. . .”

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  31. I looked at the date this was first posted and thought how relevant this poem is today. The fog the mist, the nicotine smoke. I sense a prelude to winter in the gasp of air.

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