THE DICEY GAMBLE

By Jack Reeves

“I do not believe that God plays dice [with the universe].”
--Albert Einstein

I dreamed I saw the End when
     Creation growing inert died,
          Snuffed out by cold, calamity,
               And uniformity.

It ensued in seconds, in silence--
No exploding asunder, no implosion, no thunder.
Yet in the ominous black sky I could see
Fearful, gaping voids of infinity.

Laws and light alike devoured in quiet quaffs;
Energy inertia-swallowed
Annulling creation by bites and bend:
Entropy amuck, proclaiming omnipotence.

Perhaps a process fated,
I saw it into oblivion unwind,
As Hell betrayed its blind ambition
To freeze creation, to eradicate time!

Ultimate Age of Ice!
Its frigid forces sped creation madly
Toward absolute zero,
Absolute death.

“Oh holy horror!” I screamed.
      I dreamed the
           Great fear of all time!
                When order slipped its fixed confines,
                     And God played dice with the Universe!