The Poet and His Poem

A Tale With no Moral

There was once a boy who wrote a poem and into his poem he poured his entire soul. The people read his poem and they enjoyed it but were not satisfied; they asked of themselves "what does it mean?"

An old man said, "It is certainly about the folly of war, it clearly depicts the futility of conflicts."

"No," said a young man, "it is about the glory of battle. While the conflicts may seem futile the subject is the conflict itself and not the outcome thereof."

"The conflicts exist not to be resolved, but to begin anew, and they are but metaphors," said one who was wise in the ways of these things. "It is about the change of the seasons."

"Surely it is a political allegory," said one who had studied intent and meaning. "All wonderful poems are political or social allegories."

"It is certainly intended as a comfort for those who grieve," said a widow. "See how much of the poem deals with death and loss, but there is hope in the ending."

"Assuredly not!" said another. "The poem is about hopelessness. The hope of the ending is hardly a glimmer and is more than overridden by the despair throughout."

"It is not about conflicts or politics or hope or seasons," said someone's daughter, "it is about love."

"Yes," said her sister, "it is about the undying love between a woman and a man."

"What makes you say that?" their father asked. "It is not about any particular manifestation of Love, but about the concept of Love."

"And I was sure it was about a human's love for humankind," said a passerby.

"It is not about any of these things," said an author "It is plain to me that the poem is meant to describe a scene and to set a mood."

"You may not see it," said one who had known the poet since boyhood, "but it is plain to me that the poem is a romanticisation of some event from the poet's past."

And so, each thinking himself correct, they asked the poet what his poem meant and the poet replied, "It does not mean, it is."

"Do you mean to say that your poem is meaningless? That it means nothing and is about nothing?" they asked in surprise. "Why would one write without a meaning?"

"No," answered the Poet, "it is not without meaning, yet it is not about any thing; it is not even about nothing.

It does not mean, it is."