William Carlos Williams on Nothingness

Book 2, part 3 begins with this short poem:


Look for the nul
defeats it all

the N of all
equations

that rock, the blank
that holds them up

which pulled away -
the rock's

their fall. Look
for that nul

that's past all
seeing

the death of all
that's past

all being.



Try reading it this way:

Look / for that nul / that's past all / seeing
The death of all / that's past / all being


The "nul" (Null = nothingness) is the "Blank that holds them up" The null "which pulled away (causes) the rock's their fall" The Null underlies and holds up everything. Nothingness is the foundation of being. The fact that there is anything is dependent on the fact that there could be nothing.

Look for it!