Numbers

numbers don’t talk,

numbers don’t laugh;

they don’t breath, or even have a heart, 
numbers don’t die.
 
numbers don’t have a caring Mother, 
numbers don’t have a loving Father; 
they don’t have a Brother, or even a Sister, 
numbers don’t die.
 
numbers don’t cause a heart to fall, 
numbers don’t stay with you forever; 
they don’t hold a place in your heart, 
numbers don’t die.
 
numbers don’t cause a Mother to grieve, 
numbers don’t cause a Mother to weep; 
they don’t cause a Mother to wail, 
numbers don’t die.
 
numbers are only numbers—nothing more;

one comes after none, two after one,

three thousand after two, four thousand after three; 
numbers only grow.
 
numbers don’t have a soul, a life behind their eyes;

they don’t have a Son to read to, or a Daughter’s cheek to kiss; 
a Wife to embrace, or a Brother to love;
numbers don’t die.
 
no Son to squeeze, no Daughter to miss, 
no Christmases with their family,

no birthdays to share;
 
numbers are only numbers, but behind each is a story;

each has a family—each has a Mother, a Father, a Sister, a Brother, 
each has a Wife, a Son, a Daughter—

each had an Impact.
 
He is part of a list, he is now a number;

the number will be overlooked by many—but not by me; 
To me, He is more than letters carved in to granite, 
more than a name on a list,

more than a death toll—

He is my family.

He is my hero.
 

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