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Be Mindful of Nothing
J. Scott Smith
It wasn't that there was anything special
There was nothing unusual or unique
In fact, it was common and plain, somewhat drab
And not in the least your attention would seek
That it would ever be rare, precious or sold
Was as far from true as the moon from the sun
There was no value or profit it promised
As nothing goes, a vision of perfection
Young woman, beware! Beware the deceiver
What you think so harmless, so dull, so useless
Will at first chance turn upon you, possess you
Fire your dreams to stone, burn your hopes to ashes
Beware, young man! Beware the earnest liar
Don't follow, don't pursue, don't engage the chase
Your strength will be wasted, your passion all spent
Bribes to the shadows of some shadowy place
You have been lost on this trail before, old men
Lost and misled and through decades have wandered
Tempted and beguiled in your youth, old women
Robbed of your treasure by years and years squandered
Rise to the challenge it throws down before you
Stand up and defend, guard yourself and your love
Hold strong in the face of unyielding assault
Call help down upon you from spirits above
Let nothing pass by you, nothing assail you
Take care to repell it with able resolve
Be watchful, be wary, your guard never drop
Be mindful of nothing, by this you will solve
This started with one thought:
Write a poem about nothing.
So I described something that was a nothing. For two verses. And then I walked away for a while.
When I came back, nothing had turned into something that people do to sabotage themselves. They do nothing. Ask what they're doing and it's nothing. They are always up to nothing. They think nothing all the time. And nothing bothers them, makes them angry, makes them sad.
The peril, of course, is that when everything is nothing, nothing is anything. The habit of discounting everything can lead to the conclusion that nothing has value, and when that happens you are truly left with nothing - whether in reality or in effect. When everything is nothing, then you are nowhere, and you'll never get anywhere if there's nothing to steer by.
So, my friends, guard against this plague of nothing. There is very little in this world that is truly nothing. Even the air has substance, and in a complete vacuum there are still photons and other subatomic particles present. If these things have something, these empty vacant things, then it is nigh unto impossible for a human being to either have or experience nothing.
[jss, December 2011]
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