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“Fog” – Explanation in Simple English

From NCERT Class 10 English
Poet: Carl Sandburg

Poem

The fog comes
on little cat feet.

It sits looking
over harbour and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.

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Simple Explanation

In this poem, the poet compares fog to a cat.
He says that the fog comes quietly and slowly, just like a cat walks softly on its feet.

The fog covers the harbour and the city silently. It looks as if the fog is sitting like a cat watching everything around it.

After staying for some time, the fog quietly disappears or moves away, just like a cat walks away silently.

The poem shows the quiet and mysterious nature of fog.

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Line-by-Line Explanation

“The fog comes on little cat feet.”

The poet says that the fog comes very quietly and softly, like a cat walking without making noise.

“It sits looking over harbour and city”

The fog spreads over the harbour and the city as if it is sitting and watching them.

“on silent haunches”

A cat sits on its bent legs called haunches.
The fog also seems to sit silently like a cat.

“and then moves on.”

After some time, the fog disappears quietly and moves away.

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Central Idea

The poem describes how fog comes and goes silently.
The poet beautifully compares fog to a cat to show its quiet, smooth, and mysterious movement.

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Poetic Device

Metaphor

The fog is compared to a cat.

Example:
“The fog comes on little cat feet”

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Difficult Words

Word	Meaning
Fog	Thick cloud near the ground
Harbour	A place where ships stay
Haunches	Bent back legs of an animal
Moves on	Goes away

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Short Summary

The poet compares fog to a cat. The fog comes silently, stays over the city and harbour for some time, and then quietly goes away.