The Map Makers

Prose, poem or parable – your choice; but for your reading and thinking pleasure 🙂

The Map Makers
(For K)

She once met a mapmaker
Ordered from the back of a matchbook
She checked the mail impatiently for her buck-fifty worth
When he arrived she was astonished
As he told her it was all lies

When asked to prove it was lies
He drew the first map on the back
Of her hand with rainwater
Assuring her that she would be
Able to read it in the sunlight by applying henna

She was unconvinced

He then drew a second map
But put it on the back of her head
So she’d have to stand in a mirror with
A mirror to see where she wasn’t going
Even though she kept moving to get a better view

She accepted some lies

Finally he gave her a piece of paper
Filled with calligraphy, islands and sea green waters
Told her to pack only one suitcase
Necessities you see, as she’d not be returning
She stood on the paper and disappeared

She fully embraced the lies.

He lived happily in her house and cared for the cat,
Once in a while she would send
Beautiful cards in her neat practical hand-writing
Extolling on the marvelous beaches, emerald sea
And of course, the fabulous calligraphy on all of the walls.

The lies we want to believe we call imagination, as they take us where we want to go.

~SE