It depends on where you begin
to know how long it’ll take
to go where you’re going
assuming the destination is
known and you don’t overshoot
where you are to be because
you think you’re too close or
too far away from where you
started, he said to me. I was
confused thinking of maps
and miles and time and names
of places. When you find
the place, you should know
by how it feels, that feeling
of belonging or soulful discontent.
There’s always the possibility,
like I said, of overshooting where
you belong because your expectations
can’t match experience which
is more precise, richer than anything
else. He paused. I shifted my feet.
You’re a map maker; a good
map tells you where you’ve
been – the best maps wait to
be filled in. I got up, said,
I’d best be going.
-Byron Hoot
