Scapes
Is this a map of history—
Western thought on “the nature of man”
drawn as earth and water?
—or the mind of Riccioli alone
plotted out? The narrow Land of Manna
he tucked between Nectar and Fruitfulness,
all thirsts and hungers satisfied,
while his Sea of Humors, set
in the opposite hemisphere, endlessly
feeds the Bay of Epidemics,
where heat is oppressive and air
grows thick with stink.
The body as God’s gift
meets the body of human decay.
And what map am I charting?
Laid out for any traveler’s eyes—
for yours—oceans of music, glittering,
surround whole continents sunlight
never reaches.
How intricate the coastlines
eroding, accreting. Far out to sea,
in waves that are littered for miles,
fragments of paper floating and sinking,
little islands called Contentment
drift.
Comments (0)
Show/hide comments
Show/hide comment form