One day I drove five hours;

the route and place I knew only from a map.

But the map is not the territory;

the lines and dots and names,

once seen, heard, felt, smelled, and tasted in experience,

transcend that impoverished flat map,

whose value now is only in the memory –

which also is a map,

not the formed reality.

Is it any wonder, then,

that my words – a map for you –

can no more than guide toward that place you seek?

But if I describe my map

and the route

well enough,

perhaps you will follow for yourself.

This is my wish:

that you will find the richness that is there

for you.

Published October 25, 2021