Sometimes, small numbers mean all
and large ones seem null
Consider numbers we never teach in school:
300 Spartans saved civilization
12 Apostles spread Christ’s doctrine
The 20th Maine preserved the union
3,000 won the Battle of Britain.
Back then, numbers made history
Today, in time postmodern
assemble World War II’s grandchildren
In 37 pretentious sections
4,000 professors present in Boston
on vacation or vocation
in elitist introspection
at the Hilton or the Westin
high on merlot or manhattan
they spout anger at their nation
as they praise globalization
Marxism, sexism, they are chanting intersection
And yet for whatever reason, the ivory towers’ numbers
who care for 99 percenters . . . are the world’s most stingy tippers.
When we 4,000 come to Boston
800 hotel maids and waiters, and 400 Uber drivers
wish they had taken vacation
until
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