A great man once said
Nothing is no thing
And since he was my father
I said nothing.
I am saying was
Because he is presently deceased,
I am saying presently
Because of my belief.
My apology for the aside
But it was worth the while,
Talking about my father
Is still my style.
Now you know the man
And what he said,
We will consider the essence
Of what he said instead.
Nothing is no thing
At the time I said nothing
But thinking about it now
It appears to be something.
If no one is someone
And nobody is somebody,
Then no thing is a thing
That’s clear to me.
Nothing, on the other hand,
Is simply that,
It is what it says itself
And that is a fact.
It is not no thing
As my father said it was
Even though as we can see
It creates a buzz.
No one suggests
That there was someone,
The same argument for no thing
On you that should dawn.
Nobody is in the room
Implies somebody was there,
In fact as further proof
They might still be near.
No thing carries the same weight
If you see what I mean,
However, as I see it,
Nothing paints a different scene.
No thing is a thing
Which cannot be identified
But to admit it is nothing
That must be denied.
I have struggled with this
But I hope you can see,
No thing is a thing
But nothing will never be.
In another poem
I said nothing is something
But if you check that context
It is a different setting.
That poem was entitled
Nothing to Lose
And that one had to do
With how people choose.
Stewart Russell © November 2019
