The Classics

Bryan Field

I’ve read that in ancient times
People believed that fate controlled the future
so completely
That all fiction had to be set in the distant past.
The past is where a story could really stretch out,
where it could surprise you.
The past as a blank canvas…

No uncertainty in their future

Today we are told not to worry about the past,
we can’t change it anyway
Whatever happened, happened
Focus on the future
Today is the first day of the rest of your life.
Think and grow rich.
If you can dream it, you can be it!
The future is yours This much is certain

If we combine the wisdom of the past
and our modern life,
then only the now is uncertain.
This is certainly how it feels most days

This we know for sure,
except we don’t

The thing about the classical world
Is that it was classical
The modern world, the quantum world
is never certain

The past may be Prolog
The future may not yet be written
But neither can escape uncertainty

This we know for sure

The Science

This is an examination of the uncertainty principle when people try and apply it to systems to which it does not apply. The idea is that all ideas sound correct and all ideas have contradictions, a sign there is a problem.

The Poet

Bryan Field is an American poet who lives on Long Island, in the United States. As well as a minor poet, and a minor playwright, Bryan is a professor of theoretical physics with a keen interest in science communication.

Next poem: the process by Ilan Kelman