An Ode To The Map (Grad School Revisited)

 AN ODE TO THE MAP

November 2017

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The thing is the map,

and the map is the thing.

What to include,

so its praises they’ll sing?

 

Nations we’ve built,

on starving and sword.

On the paper they go,

with ink and accord.

 

On the subject of borders,

as they change and they grow.

We ponder quite often

just what they should show.

 

Yes, the thing is the map,

and the map is the thing.

What to include,

so its praises they’ll sing?

 

As time marches on,

the medium does change.

To the masters of old,

it sure seems quite strange.

 

As the Other sits down

at the desk or the table,

with the click of a mouse,

she creates a new fable.

 

The thing is the map,

and the map is the thing.

What to include,

so its praises they’ll sing?

 

When author and worldview

meet to define,

A piece of reality

sparks a design.

Since data are placed

with precision and care,

the effort’s not lost,

if you take time to stare.

 

Yes, the thing is the map,

and the map is the thing.

What to include,

so its praises they’ll sing?

 

The power of Google,

the power of Bing,

Without our perspective,

it means not a thing.

 

The burden to tell

now lies in our hands.

And unity will come,

as we take our stands.

 

Fin