Setting aside the things
I only think I know
there's really not much left
two plus two equals four
and certain scraps of memory
but lately I've been taught
not to rely on that

There's the meaning of some words
but meaning isn't easy
to catch - it's prone to slip
like water through your fingers
or like a butterfly
escape your net

To know yourself is what
the old Greek sage advised
but what if there's no self to know
as Dharma masters teach
and no knowing as well
I seem to hear a Zen monk laugh

Yet there is something there
even Kant gives us that
and if Laozi is right
that those who know don't speak
then I who love to chatter on
may just as well
take my seat among the know-nothings
and so be done with it