SAMUEL RATNAM

Late Night Conversation

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It's 5:08am and I can hear the sounds of birds
Twittering incessantly.
Drops of morning light
Peer through cracks between curtains.
You and I both distinctly aware
Tomorrow – Or should I say today –
We will feel like shit,
Half-alive,
Eyes begging to close.
Our brains, addled with weariness,
Lie raw and exposed.
Let loose from the tyranny
Of who we thought we were.
The birds fall silent.
There's only you.

Heat Death

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The second law of thermodynamics:
Ordered systems tend toward disorder.
The universe prefers chaos.
Sometimes it feels like the world is falling apart,
Like we're slowly drifting towards the edge of an abyss,
And paddling, and flailing, and fighting against the tides-
Just futile deferral of the inevitable.
It will drag you down
Eventually.
So why bother fighting?
In the face of so much suffering, so much pain,
An unbeatable, unrelenting enemy,
Isn't it easier to just succumb to apathy?
Let its currents pull you under,
Rob you of your passion,
Of your empathy,
Gnaw at your insides until you can't feel
Anything anymore,
Leave you a hollow, empty husk
Of what once was.
Or do you resist?
Do you fight the futile battle,
Until the final breath of time?
Strive to create beauty, meaning, order
Knowing it won't last.
Because maybe there is still value to be found
Within the impermanent.
Maybe this cosmic anomaly we call Earth
Where atoms are aware of themselves,
Where beauty starts and ends
Is worth fighting for every last second.

Tending

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Nestled deep in damp embrace of earth,
A seed began to grow.
Faster now, the small green fingertips,
Reaching out
For sunlight's glow.
And I tended it devotedly,
Watered each and every day,
And soon enough, it began to bloom
Into beauty
Beyond compare.
Luminescent spirals, of red and violet hues,
Intricate geometries
Of deepest ocean blue.
And maybe I grew complacent,
Stopped taking so much care,
Or maybe oncoming winter winds
Blew harsh and chilled the air.
But one day, I came across
A petal, lying pale, grey, and lifeless,
Fallen down upon the grass.
And over the next few dismal days,
I watched as several more
Joined their friend upon the ground
Like shards of broken glass.
The flower, wilting and withered,
Its colour drained away.
There was nothing I could do,
But only watch and stare.
And as I watched the flower die,
I felt cold, helpless despair.
But it was a beautiful flower.
zone of chaosnormalcy