while watching a youtube video my daughter
asked me about the “continental divide”
and what it might mean, what it “stands
for” (her words) and so i explained about
the imaginary line that runs from mountain
top to mountain top stretching from peak
to peak which divides the country in two.
and she said “oh, is that all?” yes, that’s all.
it could have been named something else
or nothing at all. why divide a land by any
sort of lines and why name a mountain
one name and not another and who gets
to name it anyway? we live on “susan lane”
but only because the builder’s daughter
was named susan, and so why not a street?
or a lane? and this town is called “newtown”
which is just another place to live in a “state”
called “connecticut” (by the way) and the list
could go on and on, name upon name
to identify and localize one particular place
from among many, which is useful for giving
or getting directions (i suppose) and helps
you navigate your way around this world.
but it’s all too easy to forget that all lines
are imaginary as all names are arbitrary
and could easily be other than they happen
to be, and that adding a name to a place
or fixing a label to the things that comprise
our collective space adds nothing by way
of value or meaning. after all, a “cardinal”
is still a pretty red bird regardless of how
you might call it which ultimately makes
not a damn bit of difference in the end.
