The Power Of Nothing Poem by Herbert Nehrlich

Inside a tree a squirrel sat,
he was well-nourished, even fat.
He spotted then the owl who, wise,
was sought out by the forest's guys
if information was the need.
And of all critters owls, indeed
do have a comprehensive brain
(it is the reason they are vain) .

The squirrel asked about the snow, '
the weight of flakes he aimed to know.
'Each snowflake' said the owl 'weighs naught,
that's what experience has taught.'

The squirrel, who would sit for hours
to sharpen observation powers:
'Howcould this be my learned friend,
snow must weigh something, in the end?
Last winter, as I watched it snow,
the ground came closer from below
and as I sat here in the tree
I was positioned thus to see
how more and more the snow would rise
to white and pretty looking highs.
Each branch received a goodly portion
and some would bend into distortion.
The weight of sixteen million flakes
is, from my view, just what it takes
to snap my perch like some thin twig,
so tell me wise owl, with a wig
what made it break if snow weighs nil!
Kindly explain this if you will.'

'yes, it can be' the owl proclaimed,
her words were with intention aimed
at all the critters.'Now and then
and once a year, and then again,
a bit of nothing will suffice
to crush a solid block of ice,
or fell a tree of strapping strength
and cut in half the height and length
of things that live with us each day.
It is a price they have to pay.'

'A bit of nothing thus can cause
the overturning of great laws,
of physics, chemistry and maths,
of Bunsen burners, acid baths.
There is no use to whine and fret,
it's what you get. It's what you get.'