for my teachers

Systems

?'Time is an illusion
Constructed in the mind
Projected on the universe outside.'
And yet I am older
My mother, my father, too
And it seems that there is nothing I can do.
?'Atoms vibrate
And become new molecules
Which constantly change in their state.'
It's true, my moods swing
Less so with age, so it seems,
And each night I experience new dreams.
?'The fundamental principles
Governing all things
Exist in accidental harmony.'
But there is so little time
For me to grasp these great things -
And all of the puzzles life brings.
?'Stars are born
Out of the materials ejected
By an old one that has gone supernova.'
Yes, death frightens me
My own, or my loved ones'
Even though I don't know when it comes.
?'Everything is in motion
Due to the forces at work
As described by Newton's Three Laws.'
But day after day,
Pulled this way and that,
I feel like a laboratory rat.
?'So, my dear students, you have nothing to fear
From disorder, chaos and destruction.
It is these very forces which define nature's courses-
The systems which generate new creation.
And on that note I will end my instruction.' (applause)
But where will I be
In this scheme of things
When these systems have torn me apart?
Where will we be
All the things that we are
Will we be re-born, like a star? (fade to black)