Criss-cross in every direction
ran a lion who could speak
persuading the sensitive German,
'not not-p and not-not-p.'
He worked as a hospital porter,
the impeccable Cambridge man
with his mind on Godel's theorem
and the blackout all around.
With his mind on cause and effect, ownership,
sensation, identity,
Leibniz, physics and beautiful language,
and the blackout all around.
Ten thousand scholars pursued him,
for a touch, or a gift of a tree,
the handsome lean expatriate,
as he sang, 'not p-and-not p.'
Oh he was a fine philosopher
and famous may he be,
with the blackout all around him,
crying 'not p-and not-not-p.'
(1985)
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
I like this poem with its subtle suggestion of Godel's incompletness theorem: 'I am a liar' a statement we cannot prove would be a relevent example here. This is a limitation of logic, but the strength of logic is that we can prove many things and it is this rigid reasoning that finds truth. 'I am a liar' is grammatically correct but logically incorrect. Sorry for going on but your poem fired my imagination, thankyou for witing a poem on this subject.