Last Poem from Atlantis

There’s no winning with standing
Mysteries—if you solve one,
Everyone’s disappointed,

But if you leave it alone,
It itches at everyone,
And speculations grow mold.

We recommend steering clear
Of the unsolved mysteries.
No one will be happy if

You find where eels breed, or if
You prove Nessie’s myth or prove
Life on Mars does not exist.

Could curt, undeciphered scripts
Say that much of interest?
Better not to mention them,

But not much better. Stories
About unsolved mysteries
Grow hoary and tedious

And tend to encroach on maps.
It would be wonderful if
Imagination was great

Enough to fill in those blanks
With ever-changing marvels,
But the same sorts of monsters,

Lost peoples and continents
Get posited every time.
The real mystery is how

Mind can imagine a world
Other than this one but can’t
Except in terms of this world.