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| Rain, Steam, and Speed, The Great Western Railway -- J.M.W. Turner, 1844 |
The valley brims with mist,
mist enough, it seems,
to fill the expanse
between continents.
Home so early?
J.M.W. Turner's housekeeper had asked
when the famed English Romantic painter
returned unexpectedly with his easel and brushes
from the banks of The River Thames —
Turner painted the air,
gave tint and tone to the mysteries
of haze and distance –– a mood made visible,
much as a songwriter makes audible
the anguish of yearning
with sustained minor notes
that can set you adrift,
And on this hazy morning in Upper Turkeyfoot,
with you so far and long away,
I know what Turner meant
when he replied, The fog lifted,
and you could see everything,
and there was nothing left to see.
—with October image from "Turner 2026," a wall calendar by Red Ember.
