This poem was inspired by my lack of sense of direction in a high rise, where both directions I looked seemed like south to me. Of course, the only place on earth where every direction you look south is the north pole. I used this as a metaphor for our moral compass when things looking like they are going south.
Also, the extra credit reference is a tip of the hat to the philosopher Martin Buber’s seminal work, I and Thou, which elucidates in excruciating detail the relationship between subjects, such as people, and objects, the material world, and that we find our deepest meaning in relationships between subjects, not “dust.” This poem posits that our moral compass should be firmly guided by the quality of human relationships, not stuff.
North Pole
What might I
And thou
Dust say
He likes it
On top
Of the whirled
Ruler of all
Surveyed
That fateful poll
Only won
Weigh too go
South
The farthest possible
From true north
