numbers sparkle and crack

like chalk and snap in your hand

like birds’ necks like magic

spoken with feathery lips and i feel

nothing, just painted gold and shimmery

in a glow a light with ought, no source simply

this ambient numbness like the measure of these

nine numbers and zero multiplying and blocking

all lines of sight and sense is lighter than air but

numbers tell what air is and how close and its viscosity

but i dare say all the gusts just make the birds behave or

at least keeps them honest in the day and rest

at night when they’re heavier or else

numbers say or else what birds

say you’ll sleep at night

numbers say or else