Heraclitus asks a question

Heraclitus went to the river,

pondering what he called

the logos. He dipped his toe

in the river, and withdrew it,

to wonder if the river he dipped

his toe into was the same as

the river before, and the river after,

or if, perhaps, his toe defined

what the river was. He argued

with himself for a lifetime,

not answering his own question,

never once asking if his toe

was wet.

Painting: Heraclitus of Ephesus, oil on canvas by Hendrick ter Brugghen (1628); Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.