Fog

River South Spring by Tang dynasty poet Du Mu

Thousand miles: gales sing, green shines red
Waterside towns mountain villages bar flags flutter
Southern dynasties* four-hundred eighty temples
Several towers in the center of misting rain

*one of the emperors was Buddhist so he built hundreds of temples

Los Angeles Scenery

Evening dust or dark fog--hard to tell the difference
Waves crash traffic blares--heard everywhere
Roads climb bridges cross--car wheels
Oil vapors coal fumes--air warm
Inner city densely populated, sea of high rises
Suburbs new construction, houses like fish-scales
Vying for Los Angeles area settlements*
Smoke and billows, cranes and gulls flock

*In one area of L.A., there are hundreds of thousands of Chinese immigrants.