High Tide ~ A Poem by Jan Struther

Why Not Knowing the Future is Our Greatest Comfort: A Reflection on Jan Struther’s “High Tide”

Imagine if you knew the exact moment you reached the absolute peak of your life’s happiness—and knew it was all downhill from there. Could you survive the weight of that certainty?

High Tide

Jan Struther

THIS knowledge at least is spared us: we cannot tell
When any given tide on the heart’s shore
Comes to the full.
The crown-wave makes no signal, does not cry–
“This is the highest. Mark it with a bright shell.
It will be reached no more.”

Few could endure
That knowledge, and not die.
It is better to be unsure.

Source

Reflection

Jan Struther’s poignant poem, “High Tide,” serves as a quiet rebellion against our modern obsession with metrics and predictability. In a contemporary society driven by algorithms, data tracking, and five-year plans, we constantly crave certainty. We want to know exactly when we will reach our career peaks, our financial zeniths, or the height of our personal joy.

However, Struther reminds us that the human psyche is fragile. If we knew the exact moment our “crown-wave” broke upon the shore—the absolute pinnacle of our lives—the subsequent decline would be unbearable.

In today’s fast-paced world, this poem is a gentle permission slip to embrace the unknown. The beauty of the human experience lies not in mapping out the tides of our emotions, but in simply living them. By remaining “unsure,” we protect our hope. Uncertainty is not a weakness to be cured by technology; it is the very buffer that allows us to look toward tomorrow with anticipation rather than despair.

As you read this poem, ask yourself:

If a “bright shell” could show you the absolute highest point of your life, would you truly want to find it, or is the mystery of tomorrow what keeps you moving forward?