Ode to the Ordnance Survey

How do I love maps? Let me count the ways.

I love to plot walks with pencil and string
    That traverse the hills and ways of England.
Following the contours, avoiding bogs,
   Adventuring off the beaten path.

I love to learn the names of long gone streets
   Where once my ancestors lived, loved and died.
Destroyed by time and war and progress,
   No longer there, but never forgotten.

I love the skill of early surveyors
   Who with the mighty theodolite used
Trigonometry, triangulation,
   And great ambition, to map Great Britain.

I love the legends, the keys, the symbols,
   The antiquities, the naming of all things.
Identifying the bumps in fields - 
   The excitement of (Site of) and (Dis).

I love the artistry and the attention.
   The carefully chosen text and typeface,
Juxtaposed with flamboyant detailing
   Of shrubberies and staircases. 

I love to see the passage of time, moving
   From the last century to the next map.
Slums demolished, housing estates, new roads - 
   I imagine my ancestors opinions.

I love to follow on the maps the people,
   Going about their lives, working hard.
The census enumerator, the tax man - 
   Walking the streets of the past. 

I love maps, old and new, large and small. 
   Their detail intrigues me, their scope astounds.
Without maps, my research life would be
   Infinitely poorer.