Poem Analysis: I Like Fog By Carl Sandburg

I like “Fog” by Carl Sandburg since the speaker describes the topic with feline qualities. The speaker uses implied metaphor to compare the fog to a cat. For example, the fog arrives “on little cat feet” which implies that it is light and soft because of the connotation for cat feet. Instead of a dense, heavy fog imagery, the speaker most likely still has good vision. Also, the fog is illustrated “on silent haunches” which is another characteristic of cats. It could also imply personification since people can also crouch down. Instead of the fog drifting around, it is shown as staying in one area before moving on. Finally, the connotation for the word ‘cat’ itself implies a mischievous, mysterious creature; the fog fits the mysterious category.

I understand that the speaker appreciates their shoes and also sees themselves in the shoes. However, I don’t understand the second stanza and the last stanza. I first skimmed through the poem before going back to carefully reread it. In the first stanza, the speaker uses apostrophe towards their shoes. Also, the speaker describes their shoes with its denotation and interesting imagery. “Gaping toothless mouths” is the feet’s opening, and “decomposed animal skins” describes the shoe’s materials. However, the speaker must be using connotation in the second stanza with their siblings since dead people can’t actually continue living. The speaker might be making a suggestion that they are going to live a life that their siblings would have wanted. However, I don’t understand why they would describe their dead sibling’s innocence as “incomprehensible.” In the third and fourth stanza, the speaker continues to overstate the amazingness of their shoes by saying that they want to “proclaim the religion” based on it. This clearly shows the extent of the speaker’s appreciation for their shoes. I wasn’t sure of the definition of ascetic which turned out to be severe self-discipline. The last stanza continues the religious trend, and the shoes seem to be like a saint. “Ascetic and maternal” brings to mind a holy mother, but I fail to see how the speaker connects themselves to their ‘saint’ shoes. I figured that the shoes