The Milkman Cometh Poem by gershon hepner

When I see the milkman coming,
I don’t experience an intending.
That logically is the upsumming
up messages that I’d be sending,
but if I stopped to ask him where
he might be heading with the jug,
intention with him I would share,
and could not longer this offshrug.

Written while checking the proofs of my forthcoming book, Legal Friction: Law, narrative and Identity Politics in Biblical Israel:
inspired by words of Ludwig Wittgenstein that I cite on page 52:

When I see the milkman coming, I fetch my jug and go to meet him. Do I experience an intending? Not that I know of. (Any more than I try to walk, in order to walk.) But if I stopped and asked, “Where are you going with that jug? ” I should express my intention.

3/3/09