Paul stands in a corridor.
He calls it a hallway.

We could call it a library
since books line both walls.

He is there to locate
the Encyclopedia Britannica

even though we stand
in the United States of America.

He looks up Fata Morgana
and he is directed to Morgan le Fay

Morgan of the Faeries and faerie castles—
mirages at the horizon line.

Though the entry speaks of the Straits of Messina
between Sicily and Italy’s toe

Paul believes it is the same
between Port Angeles Washington

and Victoria British Columbia
crossing the strait of Juan de Fuca.

Not today though since vaporous fog
blocks any view looking north

and the coast guard’s fog horn
rattles the cups in the cupboard.

copyright © 2021 Kenneth P. Gurney