Creation 

Jacco van Loon

wake up in a cauldron of cold grey streams of sweat
dragged in twisting curls of incertitude
fume draping walls of thunder due to
roll down forever and rise high reaching out
into unanswered cries and welcoming silence
relentlessly whisking and beating and folding
throwing up and clawing back the empty pages
of dreams and wonderful ideas as the waves
scrape the shores clean and sculpt hard rocks
violently crash and gently touch and bow in leaving
behind perfect curves and sharp lines and faces
so primal waters birthed Aphrodite and left
orderly deposits of plastic waste and bits
of the shells of safety into which they retreat
to an island of solace in a sea of turmoil

The Science

This poem notes that chaos is a creative force and leads to structure. Chaos has been linked to a physical property called ‘entropy’. According to the second law of thermodynamics, entropy cannot decline. A common misconception of the concept of entropy is that it is structureless and disorderly. In contrast, entropy is a driver of change, seeking equilibrium. It leads to emergent behaviour of complex systems that is not haphazard or unpredictable. It creates structure, not just chaos. In the poem you will find how the tumultuous and amorphous ocean gives birth to shapes and indeed life, processes that result from entropy growth. The myth of Aphrodite embodies the emergence of life from a primordial soup on early Earth through the workings of physical processes driven by entropy. The plastic waste illustrates how the second law of thermodynamics dictates that no process is fully efficient, because of the irreversible growth of entropy. The poem also expresses the feelings associated with overwhelming lack of structure and great expectation, and how a different view may bring acceptance and peace. It emphasises beauty as the ultimate outcome from a hostile and unsettling world.

The Poet

Jacco van Loon is an astronomer and poet who is interested in ideas that emerge when boundaries are removed and imagination is allowed to run wild. They are paid to teach physics but find purpose in helping others become daring and creative.

Next poem: Entropy by David Tatterson