MAPPAMUNDI V

A wistful house wife from Upper Urbandale outside

Des Moines, platinum blonde, brunette, black, silver-

Streaked by turns, tired of combs and ribbons, put,

One day, volcanoes in her hair. First Popocatepetl

Like a wild Iowa rose she arranged in her

Permanent waves, the mirror erupting in her hands.

Emboldened, she plucked Mount Etna—the perfect

Perfume—lilac, and Fujiyama, morning glory,

A Heavenly Blue. Half-crazy, sulphurous La Soufrière

In a bouquet she tied on a fillet with the lily

Vesuvius, and a garlanded queen, set forth

Shopping for dinner. She became famous

In history: the Goths admired her; the Romans

Adored; the wisest Greeks consulted this oracle;

And, in the beginning, all Egypt proclaimed her a god.