Perhaps Poem by BASAB CHAUDHURI

A part of a conversation --
he said, perhaps,
I said, tell me with certainty.
He said, as of now,
I said, I don't want any ambiguity.
I was ambitious and impertinent,
he was calm and wise.
I argued, he listened,
he said, you have a point, but...
I said, but introduces lack of resolve.
I attacked, I said 'wrong',
he said, if you look at it differently.

I remember, I was sixteen,
he was fifty six.

As I crossed fifty six,
I find him remarkably accurate.

Perhaps it makes sense,
but it will need more careful analysis,
even with all 'if's kept outside.

Uncertainty has an ingrained beauty,
beyond all certainty.