TO KNOW IS TO UNDERSTAND

It seems to be a reasonable statement

Is something missing? An interrogative?

“To know is to understand?” “To know” 

is it a product of “to have learnt?”

Or a step further? Firetruck!

Or words sounding similar

Bend it, twist it, tie it in knots

any way you find familiar

My report card on all three is dismal

A success I am not. To learn, the past tense

Current or future? My brain’s too full

To understand? What? What’s happening?

On-the-scene reports (by nature are incomplete)

To understand it as a historical, social phenomenon

You descend at some stage into mythology

(I’ve heard that’s very hard to get out of)

The statements are personal, preceded by “I”

I have a suspicion my experience is not unique

If so, choose your pronoun. The truth, always choose 

Truth. [one] I seek to understand; that making a decision 

Are based on understanding. [two] to understand I learn

By exploring and examining a topic; assimilating data

And accommodating it within a mental structure.

Is that where the understanding process comes on?

Have I got the equation the wrong way around?

“To understand is to know?” A thought strikes

“Are the two synonymous?” Let’s have a look-see.

If you are referring to knowledge of how the motorcar

Engine works, you could use either. If it’s not mechanical

Their synonymity lessens. Are “know” and “understand” synonyms?

In a limited, defined sense, yes; in a broader, less specific sense, no

Does this help us? Not really. To say “I know” and “I understand”

The terms are different, suggesting “know” and “understand” are

On the same path, but at different progressions. Which is a long-about way

Of saying “I’m lost. Help me. Why is life so complex? Do people mean what they say

Say what they mean, or both are unreliable. Is the truth in their actions?