Image by Arek Socha from Pixabay
Publication Date: May 2026.
Location: PoetsOnline.org, specifically Archive / Uncertainty.
Genesis: I’ve been a little bit obsessed with the topic of uncertainty ever since I first came across the opening quote from Voltaire (philosopher, poet, playwright, historian, activist, author) a few years ago. Prior to this, I had a friend staying in my spare room for a few months, and he was prone to underlying some of his statements with “a hundred percent”, which I started to see as a red flag; how could he be that certain?
Soon, this led to me questioning my own “knowledge” – can I be truly certain of anything that I think I “know”?
The Voltaire quote brought all this into sharp focus for me, and I’ve been pondering on the subject ever since.
This is a short, relatively light-hearted piece, and I am now motivated to write more on it soon, either one piece that is longer and more in-depth, or a series of poems tackling various aspects of uncertainty, what it means to truly know something, and whether or not that is even possible.
"Doubt is uncomfortable, but certainty is ridiculous." Voltaire.
I'm not sure where to start.
Perhaps with the statement, I know nothing?
Actually, that's not quite true.
I know I'm here, and I'm conscious.
I know I love my children.
(And there are ways to undermine even those simple "truths".)
Beyond those two, or three,
what do I really know?
Nothing.
And I'm not even certain
about
that.