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“In my writing I am acting as a map maker- an explorer of psychic areas...a cosmonaut of inner space- and I see no point in exploring areas that have already been thoroughly surveyed.”- William S., “It’s the edges of the maps that fascinate ...” ― David Mitchell, If there's a place you got to go I'm the one you need to know I'm the map I'm the map, mapped, The road has got me hypnotized And I'm speeding into a new sunrise, They noted each other’s coordinates And carefully stamped the numbers into their own Well-traipsed battle-scarred paths
Next a poem by a nobel winner no less, and one whose imagery I particularly enjoy. I hope you find her words as pleasing and vivid as I do.
Map – By Wisława Szymborska –
(Translated, from the Polish, by Clare Cavanagh.)
Flat as the table
it’s placed on.
Nothing moves beneath it
and it seeks no outlet.
Above—my human breath
creates no stirring air
and leaves its total surface
undisturbed.
Its plains, valleys are always green,
uplands, mountains are yellow and brown,
while seas, oceans remain a kindly blue
beside the tattered shores.
Everything here is small, near, accessible.
I can press volcanoes with my fingertip,
stroke the poles without thick mittens,
I can with a single glance
encompass every desert
with the river lying just beside it.
A few trees stand for ancient forests,
you couldn’t lose your way among them.
In the east and west,
above and below the equator—
quiet like pins dropping,
and in every black pinprick
people keep on living.
Mass graves and sudden ruins
are out of the picture.
Nations’ borders are barely visible
as if they wavered—to be or not.
I like maps, because they lie.
Because they give no access to the vicious truth.
Because great-heartedly, good-naturedly
they spread before me a world
not of this world.
Bill Ziegler said:
I’ve always loved maps, at every age have they spoken to me and whispered to me — enough to spin imaginary globes in my mind, then to find all those imaginary colors, everywhere.
Esme, thanks for introducing me to Wisława Szymborska, through her whispering poem 🙂
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Esme upon the Cloud said:
Me too. One should never travel without one — some eshew the paper for digital entirely, which is beyond me. I’m glad you like the poem, you’ll like this too, I’ve just remembered it out of the blue!
https://sonmicloud.wordpress.com/2015/04/10/spread-before-me-a-world-not-of-this-world/
I must link it into the poem so otherscan see, if they follow links that is.
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Bill Ziegler said:
A digital display imprisons maps, confining them within the dimensions of the screen. Zooming in wipes away vast areas of Earth, zooming out diminishes focus. The journey becomes a netherworld that wipes away your home-start and then your destination as you blinder your way along. I call it a nightmare netherworld. The experience is akin to flipping the pages of a book with your nose, that’s what I think. So there! 🙂
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Esme upon the Cloud said:
Imprisons, yes, that’s right! It flattens them too, smoothing out all, as you say, to a bland netherworld. I’m laughing a lot at you reading through a book with your nose doing all the hard work here Bill, hahahaha.
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Hariod Brawn said:
Mapping the terrain, but not the suffering of the place?
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Esme upon the Cloud said:
Yes, that’s why she says they lie; you are so distanced from the detail, the reality, yet there is a great beauty in zooming out and out and out, and it’s just as necessary to have both perspectives methinks.
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Hariod Brawn said:
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Esme upon the Cloud said:
I suspect your link is in refernce to the fact that Poland is interesting because its territory has changed so much over centuries, much of it seized by modern Russia and Germany, – perhaps you wonder if the poetess was in part thinking of this in fact?
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Hariod Brawn said:
Precisely. That gif is really interesting, insofar as it demonstrates how Poland has come in and out of existence, in differing times at different places. Poland is a concept. What we think of as the cells in our bodies are concepts.
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Esme upon the Cloud said:
“Poland is a concept. What we think of as the cells in our bodies are concepts.” – I love this H. A perfect reflection of the bigger picture I mentioned. Thank you.
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Professor Taboo said:
WHAT GIF????? There is nothing in Hariod’s comment, much less a GIF. I thought that was exactly what he was conveying: ba-ba-BLANKNESS!
(gives a smirky grin to the commenter and beautiful Moderator)
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Esme upon the Cloud said:
It is now in place Professor, calm your tits.
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Professor Taboo said:
Hahahaha! Thank you Madame!
(rubs down his nipples back to normal or abnormal… I’m not sure… but with a VERY BIG SMILE!)
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Hariod Brawn said:
Your nipples are just concepts, Professor.
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Esme upon the Cloud said:
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Professor Taboo said:
BWAHAHAHA!!! Well, they certainly don’t FEEL conceptual!!!
(does a quick tap-dance to a rim-shot: Tah-dah!)
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Esme upon the Cloud said:
“(does a quick tap-dance to a rim-shot: Tah-dah!)” – By the Gods if that’s the Urban Dictionary definition of a ‘rim-shot’, you really know how to entertain a crowd on a Cloud Professor.
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Professor Taboo said:
(takes a bow to the roaring applause and…)
Please! Please! All of you are too kind! I accept cash, cashier’s cheques or credit cards!
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Esme upon the Cloud said:
esme smacks her forehead, throws him a shiny shilling, then kicks him off the Cloud laughing a lot
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Esme upon the Cloud said:
For some reason your gif hasn’t appeared on here, only in admin H, I have been alerted to his by Professor Taboo and Bill, so here it be;
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Hariod Brawn said:
Just in case, Esme: In some browsers the gif appears as a wee black square with a white cross in it. Click it, and magic happens.
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Esme upon the Cloud said:
Then it’s best to add the lengthy text as an extra in comments, but you only know they aren’t there if someone tells you, which is quite annoying. Then again, a spot of the abstract is always welcomed upon the Cloud. Thank you for the info Hairyrod.
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chrisbkm said:
Lovely. Layer upon layer. Just a few lines lift the edge to suggest the not-so-simple … Good morning Esme!
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Esme upon the Cloud said:
Thank you Chris. I’m glad you found layers, hidden paths on her map. Good evening (as now ’tis for esme) sir!
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Bill Ziegler said:
Thanks for the thoughts. I must have missed the “really interesting gif”on a theme of Poland. Might you direct me to it, kind sir?
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Esme upon the Cloud said:
It didn’t show up on the post, only in my admin Bill, so I’ve posted it under his comment and now I think on it shall post it into H’s comment itself as that’s where it should be. Thank you for letting me know.
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LittleFears said:
Love good ole paper maps. Cheers for sharin the poem Esme. 🙂
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Esme upon the Cloud said:
And thank you for the visit Peter, I had a feeling you were a map sort of chap. – nods smiling
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Meher Gandhi said:
This has now become my new-favourite poem! I love it to the core! The deep meaning behind the lines has been portrayed in such a great way.
Thanks for sharing this wonderful poem!
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Esme upon the Cloud said:
Greetings Meher, I’m so pleased you find such delight within this poem’s lines, sharing words is a wonderful pastime.
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Meher Gandhi said:
For me too, sharing words and through them light is a wonderful pastime…infact, I recently wrote a poem which portrays what I feel when nostalgia hits me up. Please feel free to check it out when free as I would love to know what you think about it!
Link:
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Esme upon the Cloud said:
I have done just that and a fine piece it is too Meher; all word lovers are welcome upon the Cloud, it’s nice to meet you – beams
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Anarette said:
Esme, you always find the good stuff although tattered shores are no laughing matter. A
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Esme upon the Cloud said:
Aye, true, I have some tattrered ones myself so know this. Thanks Anarette – sends a smile her way
Esme Cloud sat on the shore with Anarette and the furries watching the sunset
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Anarette said:
Enjoyed the sunset with purple and pink hues… And the furries.
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Esme upon the Cloud said:
I’ve put you back together again in one piece.
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Anarette said:
Haha, I like to feel wholesome, smiling up to the cloud from down below.
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Bela Johnson said:
“To be or not.” I love maps. But I also am amazed at borders. The need for them. The human need for containment of property has always vexed me, and I’m a property owner(!) As if someone could own a bit of Mother Earth. Happy just to steward for a bit. ❤
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Esme upon the Cloud said:
‘Steward’ – yes, nicely put Bela. And there’s room for everyone too, but some folks hog so much for themselves, so others end up packaged like sardines in tins sadly. Thanks for the visit – beams ❤
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Michael said:
A beautiful poem, Esme. So much is washed away in our conceptual views of things… Thank you for curating it here.
I like to look at historical maps sometimes. They’re quite fascinating aren’t they? They reveal the psyche of a previous time, and for much of human history those maps sort of bled off the page since the world was not fully explored yet. It just kind of ended where the last person turned around and started walking or sailing back to where they came from. Those must have been interesting moments, turning around like that. Checking the sundials. “Well, it’s about midyear, the sun ain’t getting any higher than that… We better head back…” It would feel so arbitrary I would think… I can’t take even one more step into the unknown: right here, this spot, where that squirrel is standing upside down on that tree trunk, staring at me, I call this location “the End of the Known World…”
You may like this, too: http://themapisnot.com/atlas/
Michael
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Esme upon the Cloud said:
Wow the link leads to wonders! Thank you Michael, and also for your fab comment.
“ It just kind of ended where the last person turned around and started walking or sailing back to where they came from.” – cracking point!
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