Sailboat In Dense Fog by Wolf Kahn, oil on canvas
Kelly DeMaegd
FOG MANIFESTATION
after “Sailboat In Dense Fog” by Wolf Kahn
I didn’t blame anyone.
I accepted the position; willingly
moved from the rhythmic, shifting
shores of northern Lake Huron
to the dry tedious fields of Indiana.
It was no one’s fault that I swapped
the herring gull’s bugle call
for the song of barn swallows.
Traded fog horns for tornado sirens,
telltales for corn tassels, white pines
for tulip poplars, Evinrude for Farmall.
Did I tell you I had no regrets?
Once, in the mist of early spring,
I turned my head slightly to the right,
squinted my eyes just so, the farmer
standing next to his concrete silo
resembled a boatswain preparing
to inspect a ship’s mainsail rigging.
Kelly DeMaegd reads her poem, “Fog Manifestation,” at the September 20, 2014 Art of Poetry event at the Hickory Museum of Art. Photo courtesy of Ginny and Roger Sanford.
Art of Poetry at the Hickory Museum of Art 
We’re glad you made the move! Spoken from the heart… loved this one.
As you travel down the road of life … you are always “two-stepping” toward the sunshine !
Avoid the beaten path !
xo …B
Those gulls from the rhythmic, shifting shores of Lake Huron, call for your return. Make it soon.
Wonderful. Makes me think of my own migration from northern Indiana, to Kentucky, then now into central Ohio. Bittersweet in comparison of new surroundings to old, familiar warm memories.
When I saw the painting you choose it said nothing to me and I questioned the artistry… and then you read your poem and I understood it and the painting e…thanks again for the gift of what can be… and I agree with Retha, solo glad you struck out on your own… with Gene too. We are the better for it.
LOVED this poem…one of my favorites…Kelly…you’re so darn talented!! 😄
Relieved that she adapted well in her new world, yet never forsaking the loves of her former life.
Great poem, Kelly. Wonderful contrasts give a definite sense of both places, and of underlying regret. I love the photo, too.