Stephanie Louise Lu
Stephanie Louise Lu
, Weinberg freshmanProspective major: Comparative Literature
The Frozen Moments
, February 2009Time cycles on, season after season…
Lives emerge and melt into death…
All is mortal, pulse and breath…
Are there laws, are there flaws,
is there reason
beyond it all?
Time proceeds arm in arm with Change…
Variations seep through the sands of the ages…
Wings that once flew become secret pages…
How species thrive, how traits survive,
how very strange
to consider it all.
Time passed by and still passes by…
Darwin's work flows on through history…
We continue to probe this mystery…
Journey on, willingly drawn
Into that "why"
which do us enthrall.
Artist's statement:
"While learning about Darwin's work both from my Modes of Writing class and from the One Book
program, I was inspired to write a poem to express my general feelings about the theory of evolution. The title, "The Frozen Moments," is meant to contrast with the body of the poem, which presents time as fluid and chaotically moving. The unconventional rhyming scheme I chose is neither as strict as a traditional sonnet, nor as loose as free verse – my hope was to strike a balance between rigidity and flexibility. And finally, I am most proud of the phrase "willingly drawn," which I feel most represents our decisions in this life – how we are influenced by fate, by genes, by overarching laws, but continue to act upon free will."Jurors’ Comments:
"This is a well-worded piece which sums a lot of the ideas of Darwin. It highlights the struggle that comes with formulating a theory as large as Darwin’s theory of evolution."
"Not only in the depths of our souls can we find answers, but also in the deep archive of prehistory,
elucidated by Darwin himself.""Charmingly Victorian."