lines

The line is drawn in a swift and continuous motion. Starting in the corner the pen moves up and down from left to right charting by instinct a section of land no one would dare to say is inaccurate. A no mans land. A land no one cares for- inaccessible. It’s a cowardly move to start there but to draw a map of the world from memory is a challenge. And the fibrous paper is unforgiving. Hesitation is an ink blot and an ink blot is unintentional new land and this has no place in cartography even in this crude napkin sketch. It is important to be as accurate as possible, for these lines are literally everything. Just stick to one side and you will not get wet!

The line runs long on the Chinese coast giving the drawing that elongated look old maps have when hastily drawn, no North Star to guide and a swift current at the stern pushing the measurements incrementally off. Moving left-back east, up and down around the horn of India, the ink spreads quickly with the slightest touch. Around Arabia, Africa the pen moves quickly on into the familiar contours of the Mediterranean, the Americas, all those islands big and small. Finished.

Its not so accurate but it will do.