If you want it to move, then you must move it;
that is the invariant law.
Unless you want your hopes and plans
to end up in the Void’s inexorable maw.
Coincidence is natural, and oddly frequent;
you find it everywhere.
But the thought “It will happen by Fate alone”
is naught but a tight little snare.
The Universe is incredibly large;
and you are just a speck.
It will always be bigger than you;
it is, even now. Go check.
And yet: the lever the moves the World,
that moves every World which exists,
that lever is your hands, whether they’re shaping
tools
or tightened together, in fists.
The Universe is very large;
some say that it’s alive.
But though you have greatly lesser size,
You have far greater drive.
The Stars will align without you,
the tides don’t wait for your word.
and yet, each voice that speaks language at all
is, by the Universe, heard.
Nothing moves until you move it;
this law is cruel, but fair:
If you do not make it,
expect it to never be there.
Nothing moves until you move it;
the Universe is inconvenient.
And towards those with sentience,
but without drive,
it’s very seldom lenient.
Those who see things done sometimes say,
(to courtiers, or to themselves)—
“Such-and-such is easily done!”—
oh, they think it’s all done by Elves.
They think that Magic means
“if you want it, it will be.”
But Magic’s true meaning is, “If you want it,
you must brew it and shape it,
constantly.”
Nothing moves unless you move it;
that is the invariant wall
between those who try to do anything,
and those who do nothing at all.
Nothing moves until you move it,
for like always calls to like.
And ennui waits patiently,
to (by inaction) strike.
The less you do, the less you are,
the less you can become.
Although I’m told, eventually,
it’s a blissful kind of numb.
Sometimes I feel that I’m a fool,
full of foolishness ’til I burst.
but the Universe brought me into being,
and therefore, it hit me first.
The preceding essay was brought to you by Dark Lords For Azathoth, and may not necessarily reflect the views of the being who wrote, edited, posted, and marketed this document.
My name is Jeff Mach (“Dark Lord” is optional) and I build communities and create things. I write a lot of fantasy and science fiction. You can get most of my books right here. Go ahead, order “I HATE Your Prophecy“ It may make you into a bad person, but I can live with that.
