Scribd
Upload
627 views1 page

Nothing Is Like Nothing Else

Nothing is truly like anything else. When the author was young, she would make comparisons between different objects using similes, likening hearts to ice cream cones or leaves to mustard. However, the author now understands that each thing, whether an object, mind, or concept, has its own unique qualities and cannot be accurately compared to something else. While some things may share superficial similarities in color or texture, their underlying natures are distinct. Language poses a challenge in describing the complexities and differences between minds, emotions, ideas, and experiences.

Uploaded by

api-203814269
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
627 views1 page

Nothing Is Like Nothing Else

Nothing is truly like anything else. When the author was young, she would make comparisons between different objects using similes, likening hearts to ice cream cones or leaves to mustard. However, the author now understands that each thing, whether an object, mind, or concept, has its own unique qualities and cannot be accurately compared to something else. While some things may share superficial similarities in color or texture, their underlying natures are distinct. Language poses a challenge in describing the complexities and differences between minds, emotions, ideas, and experiences.

Uploaded by

api-203814269
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 1

NOTHING IS LIKE NOTHING ELSE

By Elizabeth Brewster

When I was young and knew no better


I was always wanting to compare this to that:
Hearts might be cold as ice cream cones;
Water shone like flashlights;
Autumn leaves were mustard
On the sky’s blue china plate.

But now I know different.


Now I know that nothing is like nothing else.
A white plate is a white plate, smooth, glossy;
Snow is another whiteness: not powdery,
Not like wool or silk or feathers,
But like itself, cold, dense, soft,
And yet sometimes hard, sometimes pointed,
Reflecting the sky, which is not like blue nylon,
But has its own special
colour, texture, absence of texture.
And there are so many objects,
So many whites, blues, transparencies,
That the eye and the mind must be careful.
Must work very hard not to be confused by them.

And when I get beyond objects


(Seashells, mirrors, bottles of ginger ale,
Daisy petals, and all the rest)
And try to consider minds and motives
And poetry and politics
And work and friendship
Then language is difficult indeed,
Since minds are never alike
And never like snow.

You might also like