Chaos Paradox 

Özge Lena

Sometimes we need to shed the self
to be born again. 

The call of the night sky is always dense,
distant, and devouring.

Sometimes we need to lose a shiny part
of our bodies

like our eyes after the silent collapse
of a star in us. 

Sometimes we need to know a dead star
explodes into a supernova.

Within its radiance we bloom new eyes
to see a new sky.

Sometimes we need to be brave enough
to bear the light. 

What’s left after a supernova is a hot core
forming a black hole. 

Sometimes we need to fall into that chaos
to find a new life.

The Science

A star is considered dead when it exhausts its nuclear fuel, triggering the collapse of its core under gravity, an event that occurs just before a supernova explosion. After this collapse, if the star is massive enough, a black hole is born: the ultimate chaos in the universe, yet one that follows the precise laws of physics. This poem mirrors the paradoxical nature of chaos - how destruction leads to creation, how collapse precedes expansion, and how we must shed our old selves for rebirth. The transformation of identity echoes the collapse and explosion of a star, creating a glorious chaos through which we find a new route in our lives.

The Poet

Özge Lena is an Istanbul-based poet whose work has been published internationally in both anthologies and esteemed literary journals, including The London Magazine, The International Times, and Modron Magazine. Her ecologically themed poetry has earned nominations for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net and has been shortlisted for the Oxford Brookes International Poetry Competition, the Ralph Angel Poetry Prize, the Plough Poetry Prize, and the Black Cat Poetry Press Nature Prize. Nature and science remain central sources of inspiration in her work.

Next poem: Creation by Jacco van Loon