I took a long time getting here,
much of it wasted on wrong turns,
back roads riddled by ruts.
I had adventures
I never would have known
if I proceeded as the crow flies.
Super highways are so sure
of where they are going:
they arrive too soon.
A straight line isn’t always
the shortest distance
between two people.
Sometimes I act as though
I’m heading somewhere else
while, imperceptibly,
I narrow the gap between you and me.
I’m not sure I’ll ever
know the right way, but I don’t mind
getting lost now and then.
Maps don’t know everything.
Ruth Feldman, The Ambitions of Ghosts
This is one of those “I wish I had written that” poems. Excellent!
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Yes! What Brian said. I am not familiar with Ruth Feldman. This is an excellent introduction.
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I like this, but it doesn’t seem like poetry. Rather, it is several statements covering several lines.
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