Numbers, numbers!
They keep rising and gathering momentum.
They terrify me and leave me hopeless.
I keep wondering if I or any of those dear to me are next.
Numbers, numbers.
Am I becoming numb?
Is this how I insulate myself from these enumerations?
These tallies keep rushing in unabated.
I freeze them out of my mind, its the only way I can cope.
They don’t concern me yet, so they don’t matter.
They are just numbers, aren’t they?
Though I am trying to deceive myself, I know they aren’t neutral.
Numbers, numbers.
I empathize.
I offer my condolences.
I mourn with you, who grieves alone.
Numbers, numbers!
You are not alone, though your world has been shattered and turned upside down.
You whose loved one is part of these statistics, I stand with you.
Oh yes, I refuse to allow myself to become numb and indifferent.
For even though these numbers seem neutral, they aren’t.
They are proof of our connection.
We are all part of the big family of humanity.
These numbers reflect us all regardless of which continent we inhabit.
I, thus, stand in solidarity with my family of humanity touched by these here numbers.