Nothing by Robert Pack - The New Criterion

Poems

October 1997

Nothing

Burke

was right!

If knowing I know nothing comforts me,
That out of nothing sudden space commenced
In time to cool and bring forth stars, a galaxy
To mother us and call our own, immense
By our brief human lights, and yet just one
Rotating structure among multitudes,
Then who will notice nothing when we’re gone;
Can nothing comfort when there’s no one left to brood
That out of nothing cooling space commenced?
Perhaps some enterprise beyond our need
For solace in the face of nothing might be sensed
In nature’s unrelenting laws which heed
No animal or human cry, some yet to be
Vast consciousness, for which I am the seed,
Nurtured from nothing by the light of stars to see
If knowing I know nothing comforts me.

Robert Pack

Webcasts

Anthony Daniels on the Euro Crisis
The New Criterion author Anthony Daniels delivers remarks in New York City about the "European experiment." With an introduction by editor Roger Kimball. Recorded on November 30, 2011.

Andrew C. McCarthy: The Muslim Threat
The New Criterion contributor Andrew C. McCarthy delivers remarks in Effingham, Illinois, about the threat of Islamism to the United States. A Friend of The New Criterion, Dwight Erskine, introduces McCarthy to the Effingham audience. Recorded on October 1, 2011.

Roger Kimball: The Grim Future of Statism
The New Criterion editor Roger Kimball delivers remarks in Effingham, Illinois, about the future of statism and The New Criterion's 30th anniversary. A Friend of The New Criterion, Dwight Erskine, introduces Roger Kimball to the Effingham audience. Recorded on October 1, 2011.

Weblog

Further Studies in Gaffe-ology

by James Bowman

Feb 07, 2012 05:46 PM

Charles Murray's "Fishtown" in popular culture

by Emily Esfahani Smith

Feb 07, 2012 11:53 AM

Must-Read Alert: Andrew Roberts in demolition mode

by Roger Kimball

Feb 02, 2012 02:22 PM

The New Criterion

Poems

Webcasts

RSS feeds