The Last Alchemist

When the laws of physics
have nailed and sealed
the universe complete,
down to the last stray
molecule and rebel atom,
when even the quarks
Charm and Strange rise
to a balanced breakfast,
ontological questions
will become passé.

When the Unified Field
Theory is lucid fact,
not wistful speculation,
there will no longer
be the barest chance
of turning baser metals
to golden illumination,
and metaphysics will
be reduced to no more
than a bedtime game.

When the final truth has
been signed and delivered,
the last alchemist will
retreat to a birdsong wood
where green still thrives,
near a rushing stream
clean as a burning flame,
clear as a lover's glance
he has long since fathomed
in his deepest sublimations.

Appeared in Asimov's SF Magazine