Terra Incognita

Then he, boasting of his own country:
so vast – while mine was so small – 
he likened it to a postage stamp.
‘Enough’ – I thought, so I said:
“get me two sheets of paper,
one for you and one for me.”
Taking mine, and folding it
over and over – folding it
until it became smaller
then smaller - and
even smaller.

He looked very perplexed – so I said:
“Do you see what we now have –
two sheets; yours still blank,
while mine is condensed
with hidden significance;
folded in such a way,
it’s not easy to see
what is inside
its essence.

 About your land I grant, you may certainly boast,
 though, you are still living –mainly on the coast.
 In the interior – where your sheet is blank, 
there’s the place you seldom visit or see;
still in the minds of the people of time,
who ages ago folded that space from
distance – into their dreamtime.
So be careful how you boast;
unless you’re prepared
to fold your coast,
into the empty
interior

And yet, 
I can state,
that this land –
the one to hand,
though being small,
may be larger overall;
with more packed inside:
nature, culture, and history,
not to mention its topography,
that can be realised from outside;
so, if I may, I’ll defend its smaller size.”

© D.G. Moody. 2024