of armchair maps, pocket maps, and sat-navs (IP)

Contemplative leisure,
cartographic pleasure,
armchair navigation,
bird’s-eye-view of woods and hills,
rivers, lakes and urban sprawls,
– global patterns near and far:

but when on foot, or bike, in car,
discovery of where you are,
and working out the right direction
is quite a poblematic question –
which route will reach the destination
most quickly? sometimes map-enthusiasts
feel ponderous in the application
of map to mind to ground progression.

And with reluctance they confess
a sat-nav or a GPS
might help avoid a muddled mess
averting long delay, dismay
(if rightly programmed of the way!).

But still they hope appreciation
of cartographic contemplation
will yet bring pleasure to posterity
assisting gadgets of modernity.

Do calculators dim dexterity
in mathematical agility?
Does internet availability
decrease the need to train the memory?
Will understanding of topography
fade, as sat-navs replace geography?

will our delight in maps,
soon cease, perhaps?