The Cartographer

Worn, skilled hands draw me a map.
Small print and dashed lines indicate my path.
Thousands of miles compiled on a thin paper scrap;
The Cartographer draws me a map.

The map lies still on a wooden board.
Soon, I will take it around the whole wide world.
Compass in hand, I will follow the trail.
Backroads are there if I fail.

The Cartographer has seen what I have never known -
Mountains, valleys, city lights, and old lonely roads.
Searching my desperate eyes, He draws it out for me.
Pencil shavings and veins of ink create the wanderer's masterpiece.

Pencil shavings and veins of ink create the wanderer's masterpiece.

Give me sight; I want to see.
Give me a pen; I want to write.
Give me a map; I want to go.
I want to know.

He hands it to me.
For a moment, I cradle the world in my arms.

The Cartographer has seen what I have never known -
Mountains, valleys, city lights, and old lonely roads.
Searching my desperate eyes, He draws it out for me.
Pencil shavings and veins of ink create the wanderer's masterpiece.

Pencil shavings and veins of ink create the wanderer's masterpiece.
0

You might also like…

Poetry

Krab

Elvyre Fregnac

I don't want to boast, but I've just pulled off a real masterpiece. At the age of seventy-five, I have become the unrivaled outrageous old lady of Moussy-lès-Limas. I live in this peaceful little ...  [+]

Poetry

The Cat Who Purred

Susan Lendroth

In a small cottage in a deep valley, an old woman lived with her goats and sheep, chickens and dog, a sway-backed horse and one ginger cat.

Each morning, she collected eggs while the dog led the ...  [+]

Poetry

Tancred's Powders

Régine Raymond

Tancred and his sidekicks used to cast a multitude of spells. Their saddlebags were filled to the brim with greed-powder for the jealous and cannon-powder for the violent. Smoke-and-mirrors-powde ...  [+]