Fog
The fog comes
on little cat feet.
It sits looking
over harbour and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.
Word Meaning
fog: It is a thick cloud of tiny water droplets present in the atmosphere, especially in winter.
harbour; Port, dock
on haunches: sitting with knees bent
Explanation of the poem passage above – The poet is describing fog. Fog is a thick cloud of tiny water
droplets present in the atmosphere. It is generally seen during the winter season. Here the poet describes the
advancement of fog towards the city and the harbour. He says the fog comes like a cat comes on its little feet.
This means the fog advances towards the city very slowly and calmly just like a cat. One never knows how and
when the fog will enter the city. Therefore, fog is compared to the cat which enters our home in an unpredictable
manner. Next he says that the fog sits over the whole of the city as a cat sits silently by folding her legs behind
itself and looks around the nearby places and things. Similarly, it seems that the fog silently covers the whole of
the city and the harbour and is sitting over them looking around like a cat. After a while the fog leaves the city
and moves on. The poet says so because it is a natural phenomenon that fog does not stay at a place for long
and leaves the place after a few hours. So, here also the poet says that just like a cat, the fog leaves the place
very silently without being noticed by anyone.
Literary devices:
Metaphor: Fog is compared to cat (On little cat feet)
Rhyme scheme: There is no rhyme scheme followed. Poem is in free verse
Enjambment: When a sentence continues to next line (It sits looking….. then moves on)
Personification: fog has been personified – Fog comes, it sits
Theme of the Poem
The ethereal, enigmatic nature of fog and its effect on the senses are the central themes in Carl Sandburg’s
poem “Fog.” According to the poem, the onset of fog is likened to the appearance of a silky, grey blanket that
covers the city and muffles sounds to produce a sensation of calm and silence. The poem addresses the notion
that fog has the power to change the familiar into the foreign and to hide and hide the world’s reality. The poem
emphasises how nature may change us and how it affects our senses and emotions.
