Poetry

Finding My Voice

Hi, my name is Victor, I’m new around here. I’ll be sharing some of my work with you, I’m a poet, I’ve been performing & competing around the SF Bay Area since 1999, and have been writing since 1989. I’m also an atheist, skeptic and fan of science, and now use these perspectives often in my writing. I used to write love poems, and still do on occasion, although more rational now, think “If I Didn’t Have You” by Tim Minchin. But after reading The God Delusion by Mr. Dawkins, I decided to come out to my poetry community, and have been writing atheist, skeptic themed and science infused poetry for the past 4 years. Oh yeah, I also make the best cheesecake you’ll ever have, I’m still working on shipping so they are local only, for now, but if you’re ever in the area checkout www.reuschelles.com for flavors, pricing and sizes, but that’s not why I’m here, so lets get to it.

I decided that all my skeptic/science/atheist themed work was going to have 80’s movies references in the titles, ‘cause really, how could anyone hate the 80’s? The first poem I’m going to share is titled “Weird Science,” it was born from a writing prompt, and had to reference, senseless killing, god, life, death, and had to be done in 5 days… less time than I normally take to write but I was rather pleased with the finished product.

Weird Science

I am an amazing amalgamation of milliseconds,
a compilation of coincidences,
a collection of infinitely small spans of time
that separate me from the possibility of my blood line.
I have managed to out run
500 million of my brothers and sisters to be here today,
continuing a chain of happenstance
that began moments after the big bang
brought the universe into being.
Matter and energy cannot be
created or destroyed, so the same
molecules that make up me
in this instance have been in existence
for over 13 billion years.
We are heavenly,
but there is no godly hand
evident in the creation of man,
I can instead trace evidence
of my being into the cosmos,
the same elements that make
me unique have been sourced
to create the universe,
I mean, forget Jesus, stars died,
galaxies gave their lives to form my fingertips;
how could I not find wonder in waking up,
be amazed at everyday I open my eyes,
each day I’m granted more time
on this little blue marble
floating through the vast emptiness of space?
I am in awe of life,
to quote Carl Sagan,
“I find it elevating and exhilarating
to discover that we live in a universe,
which permits the evolution of molecular machines
as intricate and subtle as we.”
I am left breathless by the understanding
that my continuance is an example
of the improbable versus the impossible,
and despite what some might think
this gives my life more meaning,
makes each day more precious,
brings into sharp contrast
the importance of each interaction,
lends weight and reality
to the precious actuality
of each person I allow into my life,
because I see that they
are an amazing amalgamation of milliseconds,
a compilation of coincidences,
a collection of infinitely small spans of time
that separates them from the possibility of their blood line,
so I lend assistance where I am able,
offer compassion when I can,
and a hug when life’s weight
proves to great for them to stand,
because when I’m gone
these memories will be
the markers of my legacy,
allowing me to exist for eternity…
or at least a few generations
past my mental exit from this planet,
that moment when my atoms
are reconnected with the cosmos.
I live my life relaxed and happy
knowing that I could be gone tomorrow,
like Stephen Hawking said
“When your expectations are reduced to zero,
you really appreciate everything you have.”

 

Victor Harris © 2010

 

 

Victor

Trained in the ways of critical thinking and skepticism at a young age by his mother, Victor then learned the ways of atheism during ten years of catholic schooling. He has been a Dj since 1996. a performance poet since 1999, a cheesecake baker and entrepreneur since 2003, and a race car driver since he figured out which pedal was the accelerator, which pedal was the brake and which pedal was the clutch, there is a rumor that there is a video of him doing these four pursuits at the same time...but it is as of yet unsubstantiated. He is also an avid Formula 1 fan, and would like to add: Go Lewis.

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13 Comments

  1. Thanks Amy, I’m excited to share to an appreciative audience, usually my audience is less skeptical. This will also drive me to write more, always a good thing.

  2. Welcome to the party! Wonderful post. I can’t wait to see more from you. Also, I might be willing to pay for a private courier to deliver the best cheesecake I’ll ever have 3000 miles. The pictures on your website made me drool a little (a lot).

  3. Hey Victor! Great to see you here! I’m looking forward to reading more from you.

  4. Thanks for the welcome Brian, I can’t wait to share more, we can probably work something out with the cheesecakes, I’ll definitely let you know when I get the shipping down.

    Hi Debbie! Glad to be part of the conversation and the fun!

  5. This poem is amazing! Thank you so much for sharing it. My day just got a bit brighter. 🙂

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