Providence or Atoms

If nature truly glows with reason’s fire,

Her forces fanned by purposive command,

Then every act may step in rightful faith,

Proclaiming life is for and not against you.

But if the earth is shaped by aimless tides,

With no intent behind the shell or fin,

Then I am but a link within the chain,

A conscious thread in being’s aimless weave.

Still, I must live as though the world had mind,

As though my deeds could echo in its depths.

For meaning does not wait on cosmic signs—

Intention fiercely rises to the day.