The Optimist

A man once asked if my glass be half empty or half full

To which I responded, “Surely, sir, your question is null.”

“Whatever do you mean?” the stranger replied,

“The water is only halfway up the side…”

 

And thus I asked of him, “what then fills the rest?”

In order to leave no query unaddressed.

“‘Nothing,’ you say?  I suppose that is fair;

But then what is nothing, but if not air?

Oh air, the very sustenance of being;

Not ‘nothing,’ though invisible to seeing.”

 

So when asked if my glass be half full or half empty

I shall tell that my glass is always filled up plenty

Be it air or water, what does it matter?

As long as the glass does not fall and shatter.

 

Next time a stranger asks, I’ll say to him,

“My glass is completely filled to the brim.”

Reviews

[duddbudda]

first line is too higgle-dy-piggle-dy and so overflowing with beats that it falls awry and needs pairing down or making into two lines; one about the empty, one the full perhaps.
'And thus I asked of him' is a messy phrase
what about spill or shatter? the idea of a glass suddenly falling is a bit random, but I'm well accquainted with spilling them
A genuinely fun piece written with an ear for rhythm, which is far too rare on this site.
Reminds me of Lear's nonsense poetry, though this is more smart-arsed pedantry.
Good stuff, from now on I know what my response to anything in this ballpark will be.
thanks

[Neva Flores Smith - Cha..]

Such an incredibly inspirational piece!