NUMBED BY NUMBERS

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assorted numbers photography

















https://unsplash.com/@nhillier

        I am numbed by numbers.
        Numbers Infected.  
               Numbers hospitalized.  
                     Numbers dead. 
           Those wanting freedom from number

           People unfeeling, uncaring, unheeding of
The old and the sick and the lonely and scared.  
“Aren’t we all dying?” They say. “I’ll never get it!” 
                  Every night I dream that I am becoming sick, becoming a number.

          Am I coughing?  Do I have a fever? Is my throat sore? Can I still taste and smell?
Did I wash my hands enough?  Is my mask protecting others? 
I pray for a cure. I pray for a vaccine. I pray for normal.  
I fear the numbers.  
I dread worse numbers.  
“I’m not nearly numb enough,” I say.


 by Judy Richardson May 5, 2020

                     

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