Map-Eating Blues

“The atlas-eater with a jaw for news” – from Altarwise by Owl-Light, Dylan Thomas

The atlas-eater with a jaw for news
swings wide, eats, swallows the bright day
as whale rising reaps krill, wide-mouthed eating.
Stars, living light-crumbs left uneaten
drop from careless corners of the eater’s mouth
swing, compass-rose, above the eaten maps.
The atlas-eater gulps, does not disgorge,
leaves us directionless, eating loss.

Say what’s new, something eating you?
Or disagreeing with something you ate—
know better than to eat off existential plates
my dear. Sing a chorus of Map-Eating Blues.
Eat a peck of dirt; rub it in your face.
No more atlases since Time ate Space.

Books Available
The Day of My First Driving Lesson
Country Well-Known as an Old Nightmare's Stable
High-Voltage Lines
Knocking from Inside