When did numbers lose meaning?
When fifty-thousand started feeling small and
two million start feeling just right-
when one million is just the start and
infinity is the cusp of the end
the rim of a glass
too deep to drink yourself out of.

When did 10 feel small?
When we’re told at age 9 that
there’s numbers far greater than just “ten”
one-hundred, one-thousand, one hundred thousand,
the list goes on and on
so maybe that’s why 10 feels
wrong.

When did numbers lose meaning?
Perhaps it was the moment
when we grow past single digits
learn of the world and its numbers;
crunched under the weight of
a billion numbered souls.