So Sure, yet Not Sure

 

 

Have you ever been so sure

That you weren’t sure?

Even up to ninety-nine percent

But still not sure?

 

Well, let us talk about it,

I detect some doubt

So, let’s see if putting heads together

We can work this out.

 

So sure, and yet not sure,

Means there is more,

If only I could remember what it is

I knew before.

 

 

 

Something passed by here

But I’m not sure what,

It was stated among a whole lot

But that’s all I’ve got.

 

That part jumped out at me

But the rest is vague

And I must say it’s so convincing

My mind’s in a haze.

 

I know that context is key

And of this I am aware

But I have these niggling doubts

Because of the glare.

 

 

 

But something passed by,

Of this I am sure

But as to all that it really means

I can say no more.

 

It looked exactly like him,

You know the phrase

But looking exactly like the person

Leaves me in a daze.

 

There is still some doubt

Although I am sure,

It is like knowing what is behind

Some closed door.

 

 

 

A contradiction of sorts!

Ah-ha, that is it!

The kind that legal luminaries use

To get out of a fix.

 

“Are you sure, very sure

That’s what you saw?”

And with that, the assured witness

Simply hem and haw.

 

I know I have aroused

The ire of the grammar purists

But given the privilege of poetic right

I have taken the risk.

 

Please notice “the I know”

Meaning I know I am sure

And, I know that I know that I know!

Need I say more?

 

 

 

Yeh, something passed by,

I am definitely sure

But as to what it really is about

I can say no more.

 

 

 

So sure, yet not sure,

Almost 100%

But that zero-point-zero-one percent

Ruins my entire defense.

 

Get it right, exactly right!

Feeling is not certainty,

You must be sure that you know

Most definitely.

 

Stewart Russell © December 1, 2025