'Twas a misty, moisty morning in the wintry month of June;
I was wand'ring in my PJ's like some crazy striped buffoon,
And my jandalled feet left footprints on the glist'ning dewy lawn,
While shards of sunlight in the East announced a brand new dawn.
In wonderment I gazed, for in the western sky there shone
A rainbow with no colours - all its ROY G. BIV was gone
It arched across the morning, as if by magic kissed
Like a curvy big banana formed from the swirling mist.
Now this kiwi's steeped in wisdom and he's reached a ripe old age
But in his book of learning, well, he must have skipped this page.
So I quickly called to SWMBO, "Come and see! You'll be amazed."
And SWMBO came and witnessed for which all the saints be praised.
"Take a photo." "Where's the camera?" "Run and get it right away!"
You can guess the rest; the mistbow just faded out to grey.
So I called my old mate Woogle and I texted Giki too
Cos these two blokes were smarter than most anyone I knew.
Then Woogle said a mistbow is just one of nature's tricks
While Giki cried, "Hang on a mo', I think I've got some pics."
Then they gabbled techno-jargon and then formed a grand alliance
To freak me out with geeky-speak and dazzle me with science.
So next time there's a mystery that no one comprehends
Once more I'll seek the answer from my knowledgeable friends.
You know it's rather obvious, it should be no surprise,
Cos Woogle-man and Giki-san are special kinda wise.
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Author Notes
This happened more or less as I've told it here.
One of my two knowledgeable friends told me this about Fogbows (or mistbows as I prefer - we only have NICE mists in New Zealand, not NASTY fogs):
A fog bow is a similar phenomenon to a rainbow, however, as its name suggests, it appears as a bow in fog rather than rain. .
Because the droplets are very small, fog bows appear white, and are therefore sometimes called white rainbows. A fog bow is seen in the same direction as a rainbow, thus the sun would be behind the head of the observer and the direction of view would be into a bank of fog Its outer radius is slightly less than that of a rainbow.
When a fog bow appears at night it is called a lunar fog bow.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Jandals are quintessential kiwi footwear made of rubber. In other parts of the world they are called thongs or flip-flops and in Singapore, for some bizarre reason, they are known as slippers - I never did find out what slippers are called!
ROY G. BIV pronounced as a name is a mnemonic for remembering the colours of the rainbow (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet)
SWMBO (pronounced Swimbo) is She Who Must Be Obeyed - she has appeared before in my poems.
Woogle and Giki are these two smart blokes I know....
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