Bruce Gilbert - Map Ref. 41°N 93°W lyrics

An unseen ruler defines with geometry An unrulable expanse of geography An aerial photographer over-exposed To the cartologist's 2D images knows The areas where the water flowed So petrified, the landscape grows Straining eyes try to understand The works, incessantly in hand The carving and the paring of the land The quarter square, the graph divides Beneath the rule, a country hides Interrupting my train of thought Lines of longitude and latitude Define and refine my altitude The curtain's undrawn Harness fitted, no escape Common and peaceful, duck, flat, lowland Landscape, can*l, canard, water coloured Crystal palaces for floral kings A well-known waving span of wings Witness the sinking of the sun A deep breath of submission has begun