The Cartographer's Mistake

He drew the mountains sharper than they stood,
And named the rivers by their winding course;
He measured every field and understood
The shape of every kingdom at its source.

He marked the roads that merchants travelled through,
The borders drawn by rulers and their wars;
He coloured oceans in a perfect blue,
And pinned the constellations into stars.

Yet in the centre of his grand design,
One empty space refused to take a name;
He checked the scale, the compass, every line,
But found no fault for which he could assign.

Then someone asked, "What place is missing here?"
He said, "The ground on which I disappear."