Entropy

Entropy

When my Physics teacher explained the world “entropy” to me,

The details about energy and thermodynamics bounced off the soft matter of my mind;

Only the concept of chaos slipped through my pores and made a home inside me.

“The universe favors chaos,” my teacher said.

A simple fact, a scientific law.

Or so he thought.

He did not know that he was unraveling the thin thread that held my world together.

If the universe prefers chaos over calm,

Disorder over organization,

Anarchy over harmony,

Then all our hope and optimism,

All our bravery and generosity,

Is implausible, illogical, impossible.

This universe—our universe,

The only one we've got—

Has no aspirations of bigger or greater things.

This universe wants to pick us up like we are pawns in a cruel, twisted game.

It wants to watch us burn or drown or battle one another for eternity.

This universe does not favor progress or unity,

And so it has set us all—

Each and every one of us tiny, insignificant beings—

On a path that ends in failure.

The universe plots wars and plans diseases,

All so it can look down upon us

And flash a demented grin at the chaos it has created.

But.

But, even though all the evidence tells us that the universe favors chaos,

We—we small, meaningless humans—fight nature.

We aspire and inspire,

We dream and desire,

We hope, and we love,

And we clean the mess the universe leaves us.

We may let chaos step on our toes,

Or push us back a few steps,

Or barricade us in boxes.

We may, on occasion, let it gain the upper hand

Or sabotage our plans for progress.

But we do not let it control us,

Or consume us, or defeat us.

The universe may favor chaos,

But we will never let it destroy us.

*****

I realize that the last poem I posted here was also about chaos, but I think I took each poem in a very different direction, so it's cool, right? :)
Also, this is another piece inspired by physics class! I'm not sure why I keep writing about physics, but perhaps I should start paying more attention in class instead of writing.