not many, / but some
-- Speaker (Lines 1-2)

Importance: This note, set apart from the text by em-dashes, hints at the public’s declining interest in knowledge and the speaker’s desperation to keep it alive. There is a sense that the speaker is defending their place in society and stressing the value of their work. Conversely, it’s these few stragglers in pursuit of knowledge that keeps that knowledge — and the speaker’s job — alive.“or guesswork is enough to patch / the ragged edges of what we know.”

or guesswork is enough to patch / the ragged edges of what we know.
-- Speaker (Lines 8-9)

Importance: This image subtly alludes to a colonial-era map, in which cartographers would guess the vague shape of unknown lands. In contrast to the map, however, which became increasingly more precise over generations, this line of knowledge is eroding. Here, “guesswork” becomes connective tissue that holds a fraying tradition together.

as long and hard...
-- Speaker (Lines 27-28)