What



What is not how or why or when or even where
What finds itself distinctly separate
from the above more temporalities and moralities,
as attempting to define some element
of truth in beingness in quality
in order to describe
the is-ness
of this particular
thing

--by Scott Michael Potter

About this poem

In exploring language, linguistics, languaging, and enlanguaging, it behooves this multimedia artist and poet to explore words themselves in ways that question the accepted norm of simplistic usages and inabilities to spell correctly or even comprehend that every word has numerous definitions, let alone Deftnitions as found in my ongoing growing book of the same name that has roots it seems extending back well beyond Ambrose Bierce's The Devil's Dictionary.

Font size:
Collection  PDF     
 

Written on February 18, 2022

Submitted by ScottMPotter on April 10, 2022

Modified on March 05, 2023

15 sec read
2

Quick analysis:

Scheme XXAXXXABX B
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 288
Words 51
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 9, 1

Discuss the poem What with the community...

0 Comments

    Translation

    Find a translation for this poem in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "What" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/124585/what>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    March 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    3
    days
    16
    hours
    34
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    Who wrote the poem "Love After Love"?
    A Rabindranath Tagore
    B Robert Burns
    C William Shakespeare
    D Derek Walcott