There once was a map; so detailed, so vast

It felt like the world was put in our grasp

It’s the world compressed to fit on your wall

It bursts with potential, yet it is so small

Maps are clear cut, their logic is dazzling

While our world is disorderly, it is so baffling

You can gaze across lakes, rivers, and oceans

If only the world could evoke so much emotion

A map is a utopia; so perfect, so ideal

But is our map actually real?

There once was a map; so fake, so flat

It was a plain piece of paper with tape on the back

All it was, was a few shapes and lines

It had no meaning, it had no shine

With so many borders and so many restrictions

It felt like the map was a piece of old fiction

Once a mere truth, the world felt nonexistent 

Could one not tell what’s real and what’s twisted?

It’s sure of itself, it allows no questions

Its seeming certainty is merely human expression

There once was a map that helped a young man

He wielded it for crossing vast oceans and lands

A map may be fake, but the world is true

He explored new places through his own view

The map guided the man with cultures and places 

Through different perspectives and different faces

Every journey, every path has its own start 

We need to be guided to reach the true heart

There once was a map