The Mag provided the above map as a prompt.
The Map
Every inlet,
Every bay,
Every contour line
That shows the way
That the land lies.
Lies.
It is not that way,
Not at all. Not even remotely.
The land is not an inked outline,
Not a flat, numbered grid
Of creased and yellowing paper.
The land lives, the land grows.
And decays. The cycles of lives
Lives lived and loved on the fields
And meadows of a rich, warm country.
There are birds, and small inquisitive mammals,
And colourful, multi-legged insects
And streams and fish and furtive rodents
Scurrying from tuft to tuft,
And fruits and berries
And shady glens beneath the trees.
These are things not caught by the cartographers
Nor sought by the lovers
On the rug on the grass.
.
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© J Cosmo Newbery 2013
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Ah, yes ... you saw what I saw ~~ and described it beautifully in poem form.
ReplyDeleteNLP mantra: The map is not the territory.
DeleteYes, beauty indeed.
ReplyDeleteThank you. Regret not populating teh island with tigers now.
DeleteBrilliantly written!
ReplyDelete(blush)
DeleteThe only similarity is that once it has been opened right out you can never put it back together again. Not properly anyway...
ReplyDeleteThat applies to my mind too.
DeleteAn observation of the essence, the patchwork, of life. Softly stated but deeply felt. I can understand the couple being so self focused, but they should beware, without care,the grass will not be there to make love on.
ReplyDeletePerhaps they are heartographers?
DeleteReally enjoyed reading this. You've captured the essence of the land and the creatures who reside upon it, very nice.
ReplyDeleteThank you. I left out all the nasty ones. Except for the odd rodent.
DeletePssst...my comrades and I appreciate the inclusion.
DeleteWith the advent of 3D and holographic projection, I wonder what maps will look like in the future.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous write...it lives and breathes!
ReplyDeleteA wonderful poem, thank you!
ReplyDeleteIndeed, there is much that cannot be discovered from looking at the map of something. Brilliant, the way you led into showing how the map lies... Experience of something is what makes it real.
ReplyDeleteYour 'map' has life! :)
ReplyDeleteHow strange...you are the second of my blogger mates who has made reference, one way or the other, to St. Ninians Island in the last couple of days!
ReplyDelete