The Book of Numbers

I feel like Archimedes building calculus from scratch; Got a lever I can lean on, but the fulcrum doesn’t match. You’ll find them on the scoreboard And every roulette wheel. They help you cheat at blackjack By sweetening the deal. I feel like Isaac Newton making gravity a game, Setting poetry in motion, riding Kepler’s horse to fame. They figure into interest rates to calculate the yield, And help the fans identify The players on the field. I feel like Alan Turing cracking codes at Bletchley Park, Decrypting the enigma of injustice in the dark. They calculate the census, And quantify amounts. They’re handy for those vultures Who tally body counts. I feel like when Bob Seeger sang of bad arithmetic, And rocked his Silver Bullet Band in Hindu Arabic. They give a helpful estimate Of what we’ll have to pay. Just amortize your mortgage rate And wait for Judgement Day.