Perception

S.E. Forbes-Fairfax

We are but islands
Inconquerable pinnacles of
Sense-making
Isolated bubbles
Superposition-defying

Our minds occupy
A cold dark sea
Fleshy folded mass
Floating within ivory shells
Whipped beyond its borders by universal energies
Incalculable storm of information

Yet a simple electromagnetic ripple
Ricochets down aperture pupil reticule
Splatters against painter's palette retina
Begins to realise the excitation

Slightest whisper of energy
Rods giggle and bubble in anticipation
Ionic messenger pass the parcel
Information unravelling the ribbon rope of reality

As reactionary iris refines sense
More magnetic noise slips into
Conical rolling boil of recognition
The light and dark is fractionated
Not by amplitude.
But by frequency.

And so as that fleshy thinking mass is bombarded
In its cold dark chamber
Receiving electrochemical nonsensical
Puzzle pieces that fit into familiar coordinates
It seems as though that ivory shell is in fact of glass
As dawn breaks on an endless watch
It gazes out at a world of information
And pulls muscles into a warming smile
Over its colourful surface

The Science

My poem is inspired by the biochemical nature of the sense of sight. It addresses how all forms of human perception are a construct of the brain, based on chemical sensory input which itself comes from waveforms in the environment, with colour itself being only an interpretation of variations in wavelength.

The Poet

S.E. Forbes-Fairfax is a British writer and artist, from and based in Sheffield in the north of England. As a qualified teacher with a background in genetics, they have recently moved into the sphere of science communication. Having developed their writing in the performance poetry community, this represents some of their first published work.

Next poem: Polychrome Math by Jacco van Loon