All I’ve seen

If I was timeless like the ocean 

What might I have seen? 

 

Would my depths be bound by iron & blood? 

Of wars long since gone, times long forgotten 

 

Would I have seen the horrors of life?

The atrocities long since passed 

 

Would I have seen the bravery of existence? 

The love between two doomed souls 

 

Would I have been moved by their tragedy? 

The damnation of mortality, it’s beauty 

 

If I was timeless like the desert 

What might I conclude? 

 

Would I view them all as holding value? 

Those in possession of something beyond me 

 

Would I see the damned cry, righteous hate?   

The war of dark and light within 

 

Would I still believe them good? 

Good, evil, neither existing without the other 

 

Would I love them despite all? 

Their compassion, the very gift of life 

 

If I was timeless 

I would wish to be mortal 

 

If I was mortal  

I would wish 

To stand unshaken amidst a fragile world 

Tristan Barnard

BSc Wood & Wood Product Science,
STELLENBOSCH UNIVERSITY

This poem drew inspiration from the line “May I stand unshaken amidst a crashing world” from the song “Unshaken” by D’Angelo. Life can often be described as difficult and we may wish for strength and answers but despite all we have seen, both good and horrors, when faced with the choice between eternity and mortality, despite all, we are worth choosing and life is worth choosing or….. perhaps the answer is to be given by the reader.

Illustration done by Neil Mellet

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