Less Than Infinity (October 12,1999)

Six billion. Doubled in less than forty years. Can you count a billion? Nine zeros times 6 Means what? Hands, fingers, stomachs, mouths Six (6,000,000,000) billion Elbows Bracing one against the other For whatever reasons The Earth becomes cement The sky ripped apart The tiger, the hawk, the elephant Die Bones in a graveyard Overgrown with weeds Distended open-mouthed babies cry Needlessly Choking on air Too thick to breathe. (Previously published in The Hinterland, Spring 2000, Issue 1. Note: On Oct.12,1999, the world's population reached 6 billion.)