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Pine Barrens
after John McPhee
What is not on the map...
iron tombstones rivers the color of old tea
track of the lizard, the sand wasp, the bobcat
this road of sand is not on the map
aquifer pure
bog iron
pig iron
a strand of catalpa trees
is all that remains of the town
deer, quail, raccoon
sphagnum moss
so thick, absorbent--
bandages for Revolutionary soldiers...
charcoal makers and smugglers
lady's slipper orchid or whippoorwill shoe
the vanished town of New Egypt
a pebble thrown in hopscotch
1-2-3-4
maze between heaven and hell
the town of Troy had seven walls...
Emilio Carranza
the Mexican Charles Lindbergh
crashed and died in the pine barrens 1928
Mexico's Lone Eagle
the previously broken bones in his face
set with platinum screws
...like any place that burns...
those vanished towns
that still appear on maps
irresistible and yet
cartographers’ folly
geography of regret
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