n'est pas in poetry

There’s a painting called “the treachery of images”
it’s just a realistic painting of a pipe with the caption
“ceci n’est pas une pipe”
which just means
“this is not a pipe” in French
which is to imply, of course
this is a painting of a pipe
and that’s not the same thing
a painting or a photo of a pipe
is not a pipe
the word “pipe” in English or in French
or in your mind is not a pipe.
Only the thing is a thing.
Only a pipe is a pipe and…

Sure
from our perspective that’s not a pipe
but if you’re living in that painting,
that’s all the pipe
you’re ever gonna get.
When you’re a man in a painting and
you wanna smoke a pipe
you’d better smoke a pipe
because a pipe out here
ain’t gonna do him any good,
n’est pas?

if you want the woman in your song
to smoke a pipe you have to sing her one
she can’t use a match
and be careful not to sing her out
a plumbing pipe, either
or else she’ll have nothing to smoke
and you’ll look like an ass
n’est pas?

I am not some words
I am not my name
but that’s all we got to call me
so we have to use it just the same
n’est pas?
n’est pas?
n’est pas