A piece of paper marks your first breath
and the measurements start
printouts point out goals scored
and games lost
records are kept of pennies spent
and pennies saved
Intelligence as a quotient counts
for what no one knows
calories, reps, laps are counted
and compared on graphs
where you are plotted
as one of many small dots
in silence sugar slows blood
fat in vessels glut
as the numbers rise too high
or fall too low
when the coroner signs
on the dotted line
the algorithm loses its shine
to a flat long line
the paper trail turns to parchment
and dries to dust
not a single number in sight
under the endless stars at night.