I'm trying to understand...everything

A finite creature's quest for the unknowable

In the dark of my room,
here I am lying,
lying and asking,
lying and thinking.
I'm trying to understand...

everything!

 

Through the days of my life,
where should I go,
where should I look,
when will I know?
I'm trying to understand...

anything!

 

In this speck of a world,
why do I live,
why should I care,
why will I die?
I don't understand...

anything!

 

It's the blackest of facts:
that I know I can't know,
for I'm only a man.
...And yet even so,
I keep trying to understand...

everything!

 

 

 

©2008, Richard Puetter

Reviews

[Einstein Noodle]

ahahahaha i love it!! my cup of tea sir! yes ... such a conundrum and life long dilemma .. on the one hand the seeking .. is all important .. and yet the knowing's answer seems to be "not knowing" ;) we have great mysteries to stand in awe of .. as a scientist you more than many know this to be true .. but i hate to think of how adrift we might be if we give up searching and seeking ... i call that praying actually .. and the beauty in our ignorance and prayer and seeking can be found here perhaps .. from the Bible ... “God, you are my God; I eagerly seek you. I thirst for you; my body faints for you in a land that is dry, desolate, and without water” (Psalm 63:1). or perhaps without answers instead of water :} thought provoking, clear concise language ..free verse with smooth flow says i .. only read it once and for me received full impact .. honest poetry says i!
E.
E.

[Lia]

Great piece, really enjoyed it, ty for sharing x

[The Outlaws' Song]

The more my knowledge expends the more i become aware of how little i know and understand. Understanding the point of my life, the reason why i was sent to this earth is something i've been trying to figure out my entire life. And i'm still searching for a suitable explanation.....

Your poem is simply out-standing!!! I loved it and i shall keep it in my library!!!

[Leah Simone]

The older we get - the more we know and the more we know - the more we realize we have much to learn and the more we learn....the more aware we become - to the fact that we know very little about anything of importance. I can feel your wheels spinning, humming, scouring the recesses of your mind for answers or questions - I think many of us stare up at the ceiling while spread across our beds at night...and search - just like you describe.

[Donna DeLong Matthews a..]

Very good flow and quite an easy read, but does stir the inner questions of why to everything. I guess I am just too accepting in my view of life being I will know what I am supposed to know and pray I have time to do all that I am suppsed to do... Wonderful write.. Enjoyed tremendously.
D

[[untitled]]

Rick,
Again a hit with me. I love the internal rhyme and repetition...very Poe-esque and so delightful to read in my opinion! The poem gets the message across to the reader but still maintains it's sense of awe. I really enjoyed this poem.

[C.T. Bailey]

Great write of self realization. Thought provoking yet encouraging. I like the concept of human humility exposed. Very nice....
Todd

[Liam]

Very good! I did a poem similar to this rhyme scheme. This works, and conveys the sad truth that humans can never know everything. Top notch.