In this poem, the speaker is met with a discrepancy between the reality surrounding her and the reality depicted on the map she holds in her hands. While cartographers have carefully shown the scientific boundaries on the map, the area labeled as a "forest" cannot provide the scent of balsam in the forest. It cannot convey the "gloom" of the cypress (cypress trees is often used as a symbol of mourning).

The scientific world which is represented by the construction of the map fails to even capture the road the speaker stands on, a road constructed in desperation and starvation. During the Potato Famine, the English provided food to the Irish, but only if the Irish worked to construct these "famine roads" that led to nowhere. The roads were ultimately meaningless, yet the Irish died trying to build them and avoid starvation. There is much painful history in this famine road that confronts the author, yet cartographers haven't even captured it on their maps. This painful history isn't represented it all, overshadowed by large roads of more "importance."

The poem therefore contends that the world of scientific representation does not hold the enormity of human suffering in its tangible forms. To fully experience the natural world is to stand in it, to smell the balsam, to experience the mood of cypress, and to touch the roads of other human suffering. By simply observing the work of others, even scientists, one misses the deep human connections to nature and therefore to history.

I love traveling to national parks for much the same reason. To see photos taken by scientists of the Grand Canyon is one thing. To stand on its edge and see falcons flying beneath you is quite another. To read about the scientific predictions of Old Faithful at Yellowstone is interesting. To stand beside her and feel the spray hit your face at precisely the predicted moment is awe-inspiring. To read about giant sequoias is intriguing. To walk through the base of a tree and observe its magnificent climb to the heavens is an experience that moves the soul. So, yes, I do think there is great value in a first-person experience with the natural world and with places of historical significance (walk down sections of the Trail of Tears in America to feel this weight, particularly if you have Native ancestry) to fully appreciate the world around us.