"SIGNIFICANCE"

When significance had meaning

It was quite significant

Numbers meant something

Words held meaning.

History was history

Unconsoled and real

The past was magical

A teaching comfort.

But, no more

History needs tweaks

Statues need demolishing

Books rewritten and relearning.

Nothing is significant

Nothing has meaning

Only that which is implied

Repeated often, falsehood turns to legend.

The man of Statistics

Lives by manipulation

Reaching for Outcomes

That remain meaningless.

The man of Medicine

Lives by some numerical value

His patient dies

From that same numerical Value

A new Medicine is born

Filled with high praise

Lauded for its magical value

Tested in society, where it fails

No harm comes to the innovator

As she lives the dream

Beset with hubris

Concocting another miracle 

The man of Politics

Lives in his cagey bubble

Cajoling and promising

Tethered to the pols of similar “significance.”

The man of Science

Rewards himself with finery

Consenting to an aura of respect

Deeply rooted in statistical significance

The man of Cloth

Measures the winds of change

Is inspired by 

The men of Statistics and Politics

The average Working Man

Comes home to a cold meal

Living a diminished life

And is disdained by the lot

What has become of Society?

What has become of Society?

What has become of Society?

What happened to Society?