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Then he, boasting of his own country:

so vast – while mine was so small –

he likened it to a postage stamp.

‘Enough’ – I thought, so I said:

“get me two sheets of paper,

one for you and one for me.’

Taking mine, and folding it

over and over – folding it

until it became smaller

and then smaller

and smaller.

Then –




He looked so perplexed – so I said:

‘please see what we now have –

two sheets; yours still blank,

while mine is condensed

with special significance;

folded in such a way,

it’s not easy to see

what is inside,

in essence.




And yet,

I can state,

that this land –

the one to hand,

though being small,

may be larger overall;

with more packed inside:

nature, culture, and history,

not to mention its topography,

that can be realised from outside;

so, if I may, I’ll defend its smaller size.




About your land I grant, you may certainly boast,

though, you are still living mainly on the coast.

In the interior – where your sheet is blank,

there’s the place you seldom visit or see;

still in the minds of the people of time,

who ages ago folded that space from

distance – into their dreamtime.”

So be careful how you boast;

unless you’re prepared

to fold your coast,

into the empty

interior.’




© D.G. Moody 2022

(Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)