A map of the world

All art really is, is a map of reality
it;s not reality itself,
but it shows you the way.
No wonder that from across the room
it looks better than real life
but up close, it can look even worse.
Every artist, then, is just a glorified cartographer.
Shapes and colors, shades and scratches
are just so many roads and rivers
railroad tracks and cities
hills and valleys
destinations for the eye to travel to.
A record of where we've been.
A guide to where we'd like to go,
or to where are afraid to venture.