My sexuality
Is not the
Spontaneity of a
combustion reaction.
It is not the heated
Passion between
Houston and Oil.
It is not a matter of
adding pressure to
Oxidize difficult
ores.
It is not like the
Gravity between two
celestial bodies.
It is not a neat
pattern of
Explosives designed for accurate execution.
Explosives designed for accurate execution.
It is not a matter of
Relativity and the
time between moving objects.
It is not defined by
the
Probability of random
events.
It is not a force like
Magnetism drawing the
needle towards North.
It is not an issue of
selective
Permeability in a
membrane.
It is not comparable
to the forces of the earth causing
Intrusions of molten
rock into small crevices.
It is not a simple
diagram of
Supply and demand in spite
of the high supply.
My sexuality is
limited by
Thermodynamics
My sexuality does not
have what is required
To break through the
activation energy
Necessary for human
intimacy.
Wow, I would like to share this poem in another argument I'm having about whether people are even conscious at all, or whether we are just a bunch of chemical reactions in the brain that fools us into thinking we are conscious. It is such a gorgeous statement of refusing to let your fundamental humanity get subsumed by the currently very popular explanations of biological pre-determination. It is even more beautiful because shit does not necessarily go well at the end. I don't know what the "activation energy" is, but I think you broke through it with this poem.
ReplyDeleteI like this poem, Brianne! It's beautiful. I didn't even think of the way Maija interpreted it, but that also is beautiful and relates to a deeper meaning. For the Mines community that knows RIBS stands for "ratio-induced bitch syndrome", this poem has special meaning. I never liked the term RIBS, even though no one has told me I have it. It's a hasty generalization that assumes all women respond to the gender ratio here in the same way. Thanks for shedding light on the issue and showing that just because there are a lot of males around doesn't mean that women act like animals in heat.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad that you shared this poem Brianne. I think Maija's interpretation of it perfectly represents how scientific language can have deeper meanings. For everyone who doesn't have to do thermodynamic every day of their life, "activation energy" is the amount of energy required to spark a chemical reaction. Reducing this activation energy is a key step in speeding up reaction kinetics through the use of environmental factors or catalysts. With this definition I think the final lines of the poem can have even more implications in Maija's thought that the poem is about refusing to give into biological pre-determined reactions. However, I offer a second interpretation that, for some of us, our pre-determined reactions do not seem to have enough strength and rigor to break through the sexual reaction barrier of our lives. This "activation energy" required could be defined by our hectic schedules, surrounding population, or personal intimacy reservation. Regardless, our sexuality is limited by the hodgepodge of thermodynamics that we create in our daily lives, and thus, is partially under our control and not purely defined by the ratio of males to females at our University.
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