The universe is undefined within consciousness
A rudimentary observation of the unseen
An imagined ideal of flow
Yet the river is ice and the water does not flow
So infinite that it’s waters cannot be defined
Where ripples form slices of time
Oh, how infinite the potential
The waters may be ice but the ship may sail
A ship of soul bound within reality
A ship bound to infinite realities but separate
A constant governing law which craves attention
A separation of ideal, only to delve into unknown
But the ship may still sail on winds of light
Tidally locked to a throne of gravity
Locked to the great fire from whence all life exists
Bound in the void of darkness
The silence is shattered only by thought
So strides forth the laws of man
The great halo of heaven does not break
The dawning stars but echoes
And fire is their embrace
But the river is ice and the water does not flow
And dimensionality is but a matter of debate
But the ship may still sail on winds of light
So map out reality as we do
But time is a function of velocity and space
Hence existed, exists and will exist
And a fundamental exception to all exists
A bridge from one point to another
And an every expanding function of reality
And so fellow traveler
Do you see how complex it all is?
How complex you are? Oh dearest soul
How may you journey?
How may you navigate?
How may you live?
But take heed oh dearest soul
For light is not infinite and darkness but a concept
As even the greatest devourer may fall silent
And his throne will dissipate into all time
All that will be seen is an echo of what once was
The blinking of reality
The ship may sail on winds of light
But the compass is not always certain
And the ocean is dimensionless and stormy
Bound by a single constant
Beware her inky depths
For the chaos of potential is her calling
And so fellow traveler
I will seek you as you seek me
With sails full of Phoenix’s light and storms ahead
The ship was made for this, have no fear
Take my hand in embrace
For the journey has just begun
Tristan Barnard
BSc Wood & Wood Product Science,
STELLENBOSCH UNIVERSITY
Uncertainty derives it’s name from the Uncertainty Principle in Quantum Physics as well as the uncertainty that can be felt in the face of the unknown while journeying through the ocean that is life. The poem plays off of ideas from science such as gravity, time, black holes, etc. and spines them into how a journey may be fraught with danger, stress and complexity but that in itself is to be alive and to be beautiful. I also personally liked the idea of two souls seeking each other out over vast distances based on the romanticised idea of belonging together for all time as reflected towards the end of the poem