Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Emily BakerSeptember 01, 2017
(via iStock)(via iStock)

Numbers just don't stick on me the way words do

I see numbers and I freeze up

My eyes widen

My chest tightens and my heart races

My breath catches

I feel small, stupid

But I just don’t understand them

I am immune

Instead of burrowing into my mind and claiming it

They simply bounce off

Like my skin is made of metal

Rubber

Some impenetrable material

They say I’m unintelligent

“You should know this by now.”

They say I’m lazy

“You’re not trying hard enough.”

But I just don’t understand them

Maybe I am just stupid

Maybe I am just lazy

 

Or maybe I’m just scared of numbers

 

 

 

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

The people of God see the bishop of Rome as a teacher, but they also unquestionably see him as a father.
J.D. Long GarcíaMay 01, 2025
Since the death of Pope Francis, lists of his possible successors have proliferated on social media and in newspapers. Should you trust them?
Colleen DulleMay 01, 2025
A Homily for the Third Sunday of Easter, by Terrance Klein
Terrance KleinApril 30, 2025
In a pre-conclave meeting, an Italian cardinal, and backer of Cardinal Parolin as next pope, attacked Pope Francis for opening positions of responsibility in the church to men and women not in holy orders.
Gerard O’ConnellApril 30, 2025