Atlas

danielle hanson

The river consults an atlas for its name.  The rain is falling on the river.  If it is in the mountains, the river is
called one name; on the plain, one in a different language.  The rain is falling on the soil, on the seeds both
medicinal and poisonous.  The river has no eyes.  The rain is falling around the eye of the storm, gathering.
The river has dissolved the atlas, taken all its names into itself, destroying and absorbing them.  The rain is
falling on the nameless river.

Danielle Hanson strives to create and facilitate wonder. She is author of Fraying Edge of Sky and Ambushing Water. She is Marketing Director for Sundress Publications, and serves on their Editorial Board. Previously, she has been Artist-in-Residence at Arts Beacon, Writer-in-Residence for Georgia Writers, and Poetry Editor for Doubleback Books. She teaches poetry at UC Irvine. You can read more about her at daniellejhanson.com.