http://www.wordnik.com/lists/poetrie-the-map.xml by Elizabeth Bishop <br /> <br />Land lies in water; it is shadowed <a href="/words/green">green</a>. <br /><a href="/words/Shadows">Shadows</a>, or are they <a href="/words/shallows">shallows</a>, at its edges <br />showing the line of long sea-weeded ledges <br />where <a href="/words/weeds">weeds</a> hang to the simple blue from green. <br />Or does the land lean down to <a href="/words/lift">lift</a> the sea from under, <br />drawing it <a href="/words/unperturbed">unperturbed</a> around itself? <br />Along the fine tan <a href="/words/sandy">sandy</a> shelf <br />is the land <a href="/words/tugging">tugging</a> at the sea from under? <br /> <br />The shadow of Newfoundland lies flat and <a href="/words/still">still</a>. <br />Labrador's <a href="/words/yellow">yellow</a>, where the <a href="/words/moony">moony</a> Eskimo <br />has oiled it. We can stroke these lovely <a href="/words/bay">bay</a>s, <br />under a <a href="/words/glass">glass</a> as if they were expected to <a href="/words/blossom">blossom</a>, <br />or as if to provide a clean <a href="/words/cage">cage</a> for invisible <a href="/words/fish">fish</a>. <br />The names of <a href="/words/seashore">seashore</a> towns run out to sea, <br />the names of cities cross the neighboring <a href="/words/mountains">mountains</a> <br />--the printer here experiencing the same <a href="/words/excitement">excitement</a> <br />as when <a href="/words/emotion">emotion</a> too far <a href="/words/exceed">exceed</a>s its cause. <br />These <a href="/words/peninsula">peninsula</a>s take the water between <a href="/words/thumb">thumb</a> and finger <br />like women feeling for the <a href="/words/smoothness">smoothness</a> of yard-goods. <br /> <br /><a href="/words/Mapped">Mapped</a> waters are more quiet than the land is, <br />lending the land their waves' own <a href="/words/conformation">conformation</a>: <br />and Norway's <a href="/words/hare">hare</a> runs south in <a href="/words/agitation">agitation</a>, <br />profiles <a href="/words/investigate">investigate</a> the sea, where land is. <br />Are they <a href="/words/assigned">assigned</a>, or can the countries pick their <a href="/words/colors">colors</a>? <br />--What suits the <a href="/words/character">character</a> or the native waters best. <br /><a href="/words/Topography">Topography</a> displays no favorites; North's as near as West. <br />More <a href="/words/delicate">delicate</a> than the historians' are the <a href="/words/map-makers">map-makers</a>' colors. http://www.wordnik.com http://www.wordnik.com/words/green Thu, 12 Jul 2007 07:31:59 +0000 http://www.wordnik.com/words/green http://www.wordnik.com/words/shadows Thu, 12 Jul 2007 07:31:50 +0000 http://www.wordnik.com/words/shadows http://www.wordnik.com/words/shallows Thu, 12 Jul 2007 07:31:47 +0000 http://www.wordnik.com/words/shallows http://www.wordnik.com/words/weeds Thu, 12 Jul 2007 07:31:39 +0000 http://www.wordnik.com/words/weeds http://www.wordnik.com/words/lift Thu, 12 Jul 2007 07:31:30 +0000 http://www.wordnik.com/words/lift http://www.wordnik.com/words/unperturbed Thu, 12 Jul 2007 07:31:23 +0000 http://www.wordnik.com/words/unperturbed http://www.wordnik.com/words/sandy Thu, 12 Jul 2007 07:31:12 +0000 http://www.wordnik.com/words/sandy http://www.wordnik.com/words/tugging Thu, 12 Jul 2007 07:31:09 +0000 http://www.wordnik.com/words/tugging http://www.wordnik.com/words/still Thu, 12 Jul 2007 07:31:03 +0000 http://www.wordnik.com/words/still http://www.wordnik.com/words/yellow Thu, 12 Jul 2007 07:31:01 +0000 http://www.wordnik.com/words/yellow http://www.wordnik.com/words/moony Thu, 12 Jul 2007 07:30:56 +0000 http://www.wordnik.com/words/moony http://www.wordnik.com/words/bay Thu, 12 Jul 2007 07:30:53 +0000 http://www.wordnik.com/words/bay http://www.wordnik.com/words/glass Thu, 12 Jul 2007 07:30:50 +0000 http://www.wordnik.com/words/glass http://www.wordnik.com/words/blossom Thu, 12 Jul 2007 07:30:49 +0000 http://www.wordnik.com/words/blossom http://www.wordnik.com/words/cage Thu, 12 Jul 2007 07:30:46 +0000 http://www.wordnik.com/words/cage http://www.wordnik.com/words/fish Thu, 12 Jul 2007 07:30:45 +0000 http://www.wordnik.com/words/fish http://www.wordnik.com/words/seashore Thu, 12 Jul 2007 07:30:42 +0000 http://www.wordnik.com/words/seashore http://www.wordnik.com/words/mountains Thu, 12 Jul 2007 07:30:39 +0000 http://www.wordnik.com/words/mountains http://www.wordnik.com/words/excitement Thu, 12 Jul 2007 07:30:34 +0000 http://www.wordnik.com/words/excitement http://www.wordnik.com/words/emotion Thu, 12 Jul 2007 07:30:32 +0000 http://www.wordnik.com/words/emotion http://www.wordnik.com/words/exceed Thu, 12 Jul 2007 07:30:30 +0000 http://www.wordnik.com/words/exceed http://www.wordnik.com/words/peninsula Thu, 12 Jul 2007 07:30:23 +0000 http://www.wordnik.com/words/peninsula http://www.wordnik.com/words/thumb Thu, 12 Jul 2007 07:30:21 +0000 http://www.wordnik.com/words/thumb http://www.wordnik.com/words/smoothness Thu, 12 Jul 2007 07:30:18 +0000 http://www.wordnik.com/words/smoothness http://www.wordnik.com/words/mapped Thu, 12 Jul 2007 07:30:14 +0000 http://www.wordnik.com/words/mapped http://www.wordnik.com/words/conformation Thu, 12 Jul 2007 07:29:59 +0000 http://www.wordnik.com/words/conformation http://www.wordnik.com/words/hare Thu, 12 Jul 2007 07:29:56 +0000 http://www.wordnik.com/words/hare http://www.wordnik.com/words/agitation Thu, 12 Jul 2007 07:29:54 +0000 http://www.wordnik.com/words/agitation http://www.wordnik.com/words/investigate Thu, 12 Jul 2007 07:29:52 +0000 http://www.wordnik.com/words/investigate http://www.wordnik.com/words/assigned Thu, 12 Jul 2007 07:29:50 +0000 http://www.wordnik.com/words/assigned http://www.wordnik.com/words/colors Thu, 12 Jul 2007 07:29:47 +0000 http://www.wordnik.com/words/colors http://www.wordnik.com/words/character Thu, 12 Jul 2007 07:29:44 +0000 http://www.wordnik.com/words/character http://www.wordnik.com/words/topography Thu, 12 Jul 2007 07:29:42 +0000 http://www.wordnik.com/words/topography http://www.wordnik.com/words/delicate Thu, 12 Jul 2007 07:29:37 +0000 http://www.wordnik.com/words/delicate http://www.wordnik.com/words/map-maker Thu, 12 Jul 2007 07:29:30 +0000 http://www.wordnik.com/words/map-maker