The Twenty-Second in February, Two Thousand Twenty One

Half a million,
Five hundred thousand,
So many ones,
In a single sum.

An unimaginable count,
Abstractive amount,
So many faces and stories,
Memorials and grief.

Only two months ago,
This number was halved,
It will grow yet tomorrow,
And the day after that.

An invisible virus,
Wreaking illness and death,
Gaining strength and commotion,
From eager spreaders of doubt.

Half a million so far,
And the aggregate grows,
Until all are inoculated,
Put on a damn mask.

 

February 23, 2021