The Cartographer's Cost

the cartographer's cost cannot be codified
paid in silence without an itemized receipt
the most noble of human pursuits
to see the world for what it really is
catastrophic voids and supermassive vistas
alluring panorama of terror and triumph
only few approach, taste, or disseminate
an undying drive to embrace
as visceral as our habitual self-sabotage
yet only accessible in its absence
to pop the bubble
in which even he finds solace in moments
when hell burns a bit too hot
or the brightest heavens blind
there's always humanity to rediscover