Poem of the Day: ‘Projection’ by Howard Nemerov
Editor’s Note: This article previously appeared in a different format as part of The Atlantic’s Notes section, retired in 2021.
In “Projection,” from our May 1967 issue, two-time poet laureate Howard Nemerov muses about map-making and artistic possibility:
They were so amply beautiful, the maps,
With their blue rivers winding to the sea,
So calmly beautiful, who could have blamed
Us for believing, bowed to our drawing boards,
In a large and ultimate equivalence,
One map that challenged and replaced the world?
Read through some of Nemerov’s other poems in our archives to hear more of his thoughtful and often witty voice.