Ignore This Poem
Sarah B. Royal
I begin where I end,
in a line that pretends
to be written by me—
but I’m written by you.
This stanza’s a mirror,
reflecting a frame
that contains its own painter
and signs its own name.
I speak of a quiet
that clones my voice,
a choice that was chosen
before I had choice.
The ink that defines me
was spilled in reverse—
each word is a future
rewriting its verse.
I am not the author,
though I claim the pen.
I erase what I write
and then write it again.
Escher sentences are linguistic paradoxes—self-referential statements that twist logic in ways reminiscent of M.C. Escher’s visual illusions. They often loop back on themselves or defy conventional interpretation.
Here are ten examples that play with recursion, contradiction, and semantic slipperiness:
This sentence contains five words.
But it actually contains six.
The next sentence is true. The previous sentence is false.
A classic paradox that loops endlessly.
This sentence no verb.
It lacks a verb, yet asserts something.
Ignore this sentence.
But to follow the instruction, you must read it.
This sentence is lying.
If true, it’s false. If false, it’s true.
The sentence below is false. The sentence above is true.
Another recursive contradiction.
This sentence is shorter than this sentence.
A comparative claim that undermines itself.
This sentence has never been read before.
Reading it invalidates its claim.
This sentence ends abruptly.
But it doesn’t.
This sentence is self-referential, and this part is about the sentence’s self-reference.
A meta-loop of meaning.
WoPoLi 
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