Ens causa sui, "being that is its own cause," describes existence requiring no external cause, the ontological independence attributed to God or necessary being. In poetry, this philosophical term appears when exploring self-sufficiency, origins, or the concept of uncaused cause. Poets invoke it when contemplating divine nature, when considering whether anything can truly originate itself, or when using theological language metaphorically for artistic creation. The phrase suggests both logical puzzle and metaphysical claim, the attempt to conceive existence without prior condition. It appears in philosophical verse and poems about creation, where speakers grapple with causation's regress and the possibility or necessity of self-grounding being.

Ens causa sui describes being that causes itself, requiring no external cause—traditionally applied to God as only necessarily existing entity. The concept is central to Spinoza's Ethics and appears in scholastic philosophy. Poets invoke ens causa sui when exploring self-origination, when asking whether anything can truly generate itself, when using theological language metaphorically. Related to questions about causation's regress: if everything requires prior cause, either chain extends infinitely or something exists as its own cause. Useful for understanding philosophical poetry, verse about creation, and works examining origins. The phrase also appears metaphorically in poems about artistic creation—the autonomous artwork, the self-justifying poem. Contemporary poets use ens causa sui when contemplating whether anything escapes dependency, whether genuine autonomy exists, whether self-caused being is logical necessity or impossible concept, whether even God requires something beyond God.