Random Statistics

Violent thunderstorms sweep along the Ohio valley From west to east against the river’s flow Frequently during early April, May, and June Nothing better to do, I religiously record the tally. You notice the elderly are inclined to the mundane, Enjoy repetitious tasks the young find utterly banal? Sometimes they laugh and question, ask me what’s So compelling about the recurring springtime rain? And why one would keep old diaries full of stats Predicting the number of annual inches of rainfall? How many floods expected over the next ten years? Hey, a neighbor tabulates the number of feral cats Roaming our neighborhood in search of meals. An elderly lady knows when everyone comes and goes, Who works where, and when someone is sick-- Even how this or that nasty surgical procedure feels. There is something reassuring about the repetition Of a random number of inconsequential facts At one’s fingertips, irrelevant conversation starters, Notoriety for wagering, or, making a proposition. For some it is a feeling of worth, of self-importance Having some information no one would dare dispute Because it is hard data written down in little books, A product of aging, retiring, life’s natural circumstance.