Another Poem

Of The Terrible Doubt Of Appearances
by Walt Whitman

Of the terrible doubt of appearances,
Of the uncertainty after all, that we may be deluded,
That may-be reliance and hope are but speculations after all,
That may-be identity beyond the grave is a beautiful fable
only,
May-be the things I perceive, the animals, plants, men, hills,
shining and flowing waters,
The skies of day and night, colors, densities, forms, may-be
these are (as doubtless they are) only apparitions, and
the real something has yet to be known,
(How often they dart out of themselves as if to confound me
and mock me!
How often I think neither I know, nor any man knows,
aught of them,)
May-be seeming to me what they are (as doubtless they
indeed but seem) as from my present point of view, and
might prove (as of course they would) nought of what
they appear, or nought anyhow, from entirely changed
points of view;
To me these and the like of these are curiously answer'd by
my lovers, my dear friends,
When she whom I love travels with me or sits a long while
holding me by the hand,
When the subtle air, the impalpable, the sense that words and
reason hold not, surround us and pervade us,
Then I am charged with untold and untellable wisdom, I am
silent, I require nothing further,
I cannot answer the question of appearances or that of
identity beyond the grave,
But I walk or sit indifferent, I am satisfied,
She ahold of my hand has completely satisfied me.

A Poem

Warnings
by David Allen Sullivan

A can of self-defense pepper spray says it may irritate the eyes, while a bathroom heater says it's not to be used in bathrooms. I collect warningsthe way I used to collect philosophy quotes.Wittgenstein's There's no such thingas clear milk rubs shoulders with a boxof rat poison which has been found to cause cancer in laboratory mice.Levinas' Language is a battering ram—a sign that says the very fact of saying,is as inscrutable as the laser pointer's advice:Do not look into laser with remaining eye.Last week I boxed up the solemn rowof philosophy tomes and carted them downto the used bookstore. The dolly read:Not to be used to transport humans.Did lawyers insist that the 13-inch wheelon the wheelbarrow proclaim it'snot intended for highway use? Or that the Curling iron is for external use only?Abram says that realists render materialto give the reader the illusion of the ordinary.What would he make of Shin pads cannot protectany part of the body they do not cover?I load boxes of books onto the counter. Flipto a yellow-highlighted passage in Aristotle:Whiteness which lasts for a long time is no whiterthan whiteness which lasts only a day.People talk about the blinding glareof the obvious: Objects in the mirrorare actually behind you, Electric cattle prodonly to be used on animals, Warning: Knives are sharp.What would I have done without: Remove infantbefore folding for storage, Do not use hair dryerwhile sleeping, Eating pet rocks may lead to broken teeth, Do not use deodorant intimately?Goodbye to all those sentences that soughtto puncture the illusory world-like the warningon the polyester Halloween outfit for my son:Batman costume will not enable you to fly.
The writer’s almanac 10/13/2008