Counting Backwards

Counting backwards from ten
I noticed something odd as I
approached the number eight

At first, everything was fine:
10, nine, blue, square, barbecue, sin…

But then things became fuzzy
The numbers lost shape
Eight twisted in to knots
Seven kinked with several more angles
And 6 was obliterated into a shower of infintesimals

Calm
A strange amount of calm washed over me
Head first
Down to the ground
It then occurred to me that making numbers
Into physical things was
Probably a mistake

Poor little nubile number six
I thought
I doubt that it will ever reform
From its sordid past

So I tried to work my way back
Up to ten, but I got lost
After Algeria
There are infinite amounts of
Numbers between
8 and nine
And most of these are without
Proper names

I mean, what do you call an irrational number
To its face?
Seventy-seven over nine isn’t
Good enough for him any more
No!…
He’ s got to be eight point five five 5 five five five five five

Five
4ever and ever
He’s just lucky I don’t just round him off
He’s so analog in
This digital age
What an ass
Five

How can I count on numbers to be here
For me? They usually
Are such reliable, integral
Parts of life
Solid little
Guys, whom I could rattle off
In times of need

And now? They’ve gotten lost in
My brain
Subtracted and divided
Into nonsensical patterns
It is beginning to add up to madness!

Then calm again
That blessed calm
Falling over me like tepid rain
And, soon, I forget to count again

1998 © Jonathan Russell