In considering Carl Sandburg's poem "Fog," the lines from T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" that most likely influenced Sandburg’s poem are:
- "The yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes,"
- "Lingered upon the pools that stand in drains,"
- "And watched the smoke that rises from the pipes."
These lines evoke a sense of atmosphere and personification of the fog or smoke, similar to how Sandburg characterizes fog as coming in on "little cat feet" and sitting silently. Both poems create a vivid imagery of urban life through natural elements (fog and smoke), capturing a moment of stillness and observation in the city.