What if each life holds a number

Our mortality, on this code, depends?

A sequence of numbers, an algorithm

Dictates our fate —

How long one lives, how short one’s life,

Who goes first and when?

Who lives longer and till when?

And if our math geniuses crack the code,

Could we cheat death, retain our place?

---

I submitted this poem to a journal, and the editor was nice enough to email me back saying, “Although it wasn’t accepted for publication, we enjoyed reading your work.” I thanked him for letting me know.

But it really made me wonder what he meant by “we enjoyed reading your work.” Did he mean they thought it was funny? Hehehe.

Anyway, it’s fine. I can always post my poems here, and hopefully someone, somewhere will read it and think about life and reality.

This poem came to me when I woke up in the middle of the night and realized the podcast I was listening to was still on — the host was talking about Pythagoras and numbers. I wasn’t fully awake when the thought came to me.

Anyway, when I showed the poem to my husband he said sarcastically, “Are you Catholic? You think we’re just programs? You think God is a programmer?” 😛

Have a lovely week! 🌹

T.