The following fairly late writing is in prose, rather than
poetry per se. It is from the philosopher Chuang-Tzu's
Writings, xxii, VIII, sixth century BCE.
Here, the tone, imagery, and personification are heavily
influenced by Taoist thought in the Tao-Te
Ching, including the Taoist emphasis on the inability
of language and logical categorization to encompass reality.
The attempt to put a label on something can falsely reify
a non-existent thing, as Starshine discovers when he questions
Non-Being, the darkness. The conceptual categories that separate
what "is" from what "isn't" accordingly
become paradoxical.
"Starshine
and Non-Being "
Starshine
asked Non-Being,
"Master,
do you exist? Or do you not exist?"
Since
he received no answer at all,
Starlight
set himself to watch for Non-Being.
He
waited to see if Non-Being would appear.
He
kept his eyes fixed on the deep Void,
hoping
to catch a glimpse of Non-Being.
All
day long he looked.
He
saw nothing.
He
listened.
He
heard nothing.
Then
Starlight cried out at last: "This is IT!"
"This
is the farthest yet! Who can reach it?
I
can understand the absence of Being.
But
who can understand the absence of Nothing?
If
now, on top of all this, Non-Being exists,
Who
can understand it?"
