The Changing Light - Lawrence Ferlinghetti

The changing light
                    at San Francisco
       is none of your East Coast light
                    none of your
                            pearly light of Paris
The light of San Francisco
                           is a sea light
                                          an island light
And the light of fog
                    blanketing the hills
            drifting in at night
                        through the Golden Gate
                                          to lie on the city at dawn
And then the halcyon late mornings
       after the fog burns off
              and the sun paints white houses
                                      with the sea light of Greece
                  with sharp clean shadows
                          making the town look like
                                    it had just been painted

But the wind comes up at four o'clock
                                       sweeping the hills

And then the veil of light of early evening

And then another scrim
                    when the new night fog
                                                floats in
And in that vale of light
                            the city drifts
                                             anchorless upon the ocean

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Lawrence Ferlinghetti (born 1919) USA