"Unanswerable Question"

by Jennifer Tyson

     What am i?
a fly? a flea?
     a quivering critter crawling
beneath the gaze of an uncaring god?
     or perhaps i'm a flash of light,
          or a scattering of scraps
               rattling about the cosmos?
or perhaps i'm an empty pitcher, waiting
          to be filled with the wine of life?
     a superficial paint job;
          a momentary splotch of rainbow on the black canvas;
               imperfect discarded weavings
or am i a speck in infinity?
or am i infinity?
     or perhaps i'm a riddle
unsolved
          when no one else is around?
or perhaps i'm a riddle created from riddles?
or am i omnipotent, omniscient,
     the epitome of mankind?
or perhaps i'm only
   trickling
         down
           into
             no
                th
                 ing
                  at
                    all.
i am
am i?

c. 1995