Saturday, December 13, 2008

Enough Trillions!





1.
ENOUGH TRILLIONS!
Count one! It takes a second; maybe even less;
Even a baby can count to one with very great success.
Time to take a little breath, time to blink an eye.
You just can't make it stretch-out, even if you try.
10.
Count ten! A little longer: A few words could be said;
Or perhaps you take that length of time to climb into your bed.
Clean your teeth? Well, maybe, I think there's time for that.
And a count of ten is time enough to give your dog a pat.
100.
Add another nought and now's the time for you to concentrate!
A hundred takes much longer, so life will have to wait.
It takes that long to wash your hair or make a cup of tea,
Or to pick those lovely apples that are hanging on the tree.
1000.
Now we start talking business! From three digits to four.
We're counting to a thousand and that's a whole lot more.
In the time it takes to count it you could weed a garden path,
Or even have a pleasant lazy luxury bubble-bath.
1000000.
Now let's leap up to a million. More noughts? Well, only three,
But now you're counting ones full-time! How boring that will be!
For  twelve whole days, and nights as well, you'll have to sit and count,
For as we know a million is a very large amount.
1000000000.
Then what about a billion? We're in the stratosphere!
You'll have to count and count and count for many a dreary year.
If you start-off when you're twenty-one  by the end you'll be fifty-four !
Yes thirty-three years you'll be counting! You might find that a bore!
1000000000000.
Wait for it! Here's the big one; a trillion has twelve noughts!
Something a human being cannot picture in his thoughts.
Think of thirty-three thousand years! Doesn't that blow your mind!
Think of all those years ahead or all those years behind!
Think of the generations, from cavemen up to you!
And counting, counting all the time until the task was through!
Thirty-three thousand years it takes! Can you believe your ears?
Can you even imagine counting for all those years?

So when the clever money-men present their machinations
Watch-out for the small word 'trillion' in their tricky calculations!

3 comments:

Mari Meehan said...

No wonder the world's finances are in such trouble! No one has time to do the count!

b+ (Retire In Style Blog) said...

Trillion is the scariest word I have heard in my life time...all 67 years of it. Idiots!!!

b

Kat said...

"...Now we start talking business!.."

:)))))) Loved the businessy poem.
Anyway, I'll like to count only my blessings..!!