"Tales of the Spreadsheet"

These words are unlike the numbers in a computer
you can't retroactively bring them back
they last in your memory alone.
You can't formulate the data and box it in a single cell.
These are not reports that you can archive,
these are not numbers you can crunch.
Here, the graphs won't provide you a sense of direction
and they won't tell you to seize the day.
The percentages are empty, stripped of any meaning.
The sums and averages are weak...
But if you had some social capital-
you wouldn't need a spreadsheet for them to hear you speak.