Spiegel im Spiegel

Meaning is a habit of usage,

Goes one recent attempt. Pretty good.

Usage in particular contexts,

As part of well-worn phrases, okay,

That stabilizes or cleaves meanings

Associated with given words.

But, as usage of a piano key,

While it can allude to traditions

And musical associations,

Doesn’t really tell you what notes are

Or why you use sounds to make music,

Or what human music is and how

It is and is not like birdsong,

The same for the meanings played by words.

While we’re at it, what’s the deal with tears?

Like words or music, psychogenic

Lachrimation is wholly human,

And like meanings or expressiveness

That bob along with words and music,

Weeping’s both derived from common functions

In other species but also used

Uniquely by human bodies

In strange ways humans try to explain

But have so far failed to understand.

The significance of weeping, too,

Is a habit of usage and shifts

With frames, but now why are you crying?