Something and Nothing
       

There's something to be said
for having nothing to say,

though I don't know what
that is, or isn't, just as

there's something to be
known about not-knowing,

which I would tell you
if I could. There must be

something to be gained
by losing, a seed of victory

buried in every failure,
else I would not be here.

Clearly, there's something
to be desired about being

beyond desire, as the sages
never tire of telling us,

and nothing more fulfilling
than emptying yourself out—

no ground beneath your feet,
nothing to hold onto, no handrail,

no belief, only this bright self-
sustaining air, and a falling

that feels like floating.

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Copyright © 2021 John Brehm All rights reserved
from The Manhattan Review
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission