Uncharted

They left me there

An island of uncertainty

Surrounded by miles of ocean

Yet to be marked on a map

Left undiscovered

Each wave crashing against the shore taking me away

Piece by piece until I am no more

But I can only be me

Maps are ancient artifacts passed down from generation to generation

A massive colaboration spanning across the centuries of those who have come before us

Giving us a new perspective of the world

We made them so we could remember where we had been

So I can remember I am a girl born in the Appalachians who was swept to the Rocky Mountains

So I can remember I am from tire swings and sleeping out on trampolines

From a small town that seemed huge from my blue eye point of view

We made them so we wouldn't be lost

But this is hard when I tend to get lost inside myself

When rivers have cut valleys so deep those parts of me will never be the same

When my thoughts are connect the dot constellations that I can't project high enough in the sky for others to see

When there are countries inside me that begin to collide

Shaking and shifting

And just when I feel the Earth begin to crack open

That is when the words come out

We made them to help us find the right destination

So I know it's ok there are parts of me that are meant to be untamed

That open highway crisscrosses my skin and it is a road for others to travel down

And they may leave scars but they will act as landmarks so I know where I am going

So instead of asking "how did I get here?"

I will be there to savor every moment

She asked us to draw a map of our lives

When she should know maps may give us a new perspective

But it is up to the cartographer to decide if we will see the truth

I said no

Because I am no longer an island

I am the world

The seven wonders kept inside me

A body full of bones, lungs, and a heart

A mind full of books I have read

And people I have met

And words I have said

I am the world

And you cannot define me