09-07-2013, 09:28 AM
Twenty centuries ago, medicine was far from astute.
If you were sick your neighbor said, here, eat this root.
A thousand years after, religion supplanted health care
That root is heathen, to be well, say this prayer.
A few centuries later alchemy was the grand notion.
That prayer is heathen, here, drink this potion.
Then soon after, science knew what made you ill,
That potion is mere snake oil, here, take this pill.
Not long ago, dispensing medicine became robotic
That pill is ineffective, here, take this antibiotic.
Now chemicals are the enemy, nature’s healing beyond refute.
That antibiotic is artificial, here, eat this root.
If you were sick your neighbor said, here, eat this root.
A thousand years after, religion supplanted health care
That root is heathen, to be well, say this prayer.
A few centuries later alchemy was the grand notion.
That prayer is heathen, here, drink this potion.
Then soon after, science knew what made you ill,
That potion is mere snake oil, here, take this pill.
Not long ago, dispensing medicine became robotic
That pill is ineffective, here, take this antibiotic.
Now chemicals are the enemy, nature’s healing beyond refute.
That antibiotic is artificial, here, eat this root.
"In science one tries to tell people, in such a way as to be understood by everyone, something that no one ever knew before. But in poetry, it's the exact opposite." - Paul Dirac (1902 - 1984)