Shadowlands

Linsey Andrews

Come, walk in the other cities 
mapped between hourglass twists
and energies in unseen jitter, 

timer sands of the unsaids
as shifty as love, ink settling
in tattoos you never got 

a night you drank past closing,
locked-in, one for the road over
which a partial moon curved

a night you kissed suddenly
and slipped inside, within the night 
you bit your lip and walked.

The future is past turned in another light,   
a ceaseless chorale in quantum parts
of all possible songs in different registers.

Nothing is stasis, stasis is nothing.
Even continents move against each other
grinding in geological slow dance.

We travel endless lines on one-way tickets,
unseen points shifting as scenery years pass: 
railroaded – but constantly arriving somewhere.   

The Science

Even though I don't think it's correct, I've always been intrigued by the 'Many Worlds Interpretation' of the universe various respected physicists propose. This is the idea that the quirks of measuring at the quantum level imply all possible outcomes of every quantum measurement are physically realised in parallel worlds – creating infinite parallel universes that differ to various degrees. My poem puts humans into that template with the idea of a constant branching of lifelines depending on every difference in action. But each life branch is as real as any other in the end.

The Poet

I grew up in four very different places abroad (Hong Kong, Australia, Brazil and South Africa) before moving to Scotland as a teenager. I now live in Brighton. I'm a journalist by profession, covering a very diverse range of subjects for multiple national and international publications – including writing about science for over 20 years. Though I ended up doing an arts degree, I started out studying astrophysics. I loved what I did of the degree (still proud of the 'merit' for my Astronomy exam), but just decided I didn't want a career in astrophysics!

Next poem: shared roots by Rebecca Hooper