studying maps, 1

examining maps on a screen
makes the world look so small

countries and cities
thousands of miles away
seem so attainable
a click, a credit card,
a flight, and you’re there

i look at maps like a hungry diner
in line for a vegas buffet

wanting tick marks
to add to the soles
of my shoes

forgetting the places
near the little dot
indicating my own location

this hunger to go
to leave, to know
other places
however briefly
wears on my wallet
and my spirit

what about here?
how well do i know the
grooves in the sidewalk,
or where lemon trees drop
fruit over fences,
or apricots hang heavily
from branches?

the maps
zoom out too far

i see
too much
and too little