For the Number 12

No one liked eleven,

an ignored child. But you,
twelve, they doted on.
You wore the 2-more-than-10
like a crown. You came

to denote half a day, a
year, a box of moons, a
site for mid-day meals,
a gang of star-gods.

The military treated
you strangely--turning you into
"straight up"--or zero,
when time begins again.

You became midnight's lover,
noon's boss, the clock
in a church or a brothel.

You were born even grander
than 10 and live between it
and the squad of teens,
alone except for your odd
sibling, eleven, who loves
you no matter what
and see you as the end
of childhood.

hans ostrom 2023

For the Number 11

Sympathies to you, eleven,

the first echo-number, two
flagpoles, a football or rugby
goal. After the glamorous run

from one to ten, the system
needed a dutiful number,
and you stepped in. No good
numeral deed goes unpunished:

Peter Bungus, 16th century,
charged you with being evil.
Other cultures did as well.
So human: to ignore evil
that exists so as to invent
the sight of it elsewhere.

Eleven, may you
and seven seek a long
vacation, far away from
superstition, 18 days on
a beach or next to an alpine
lake. Two poles, a rope,
and canvas: a simple tent
for a simple number and friend.

hans ostrom 2023

For 6

The "bachelor's" degree in college
springs from the Medieval baccalarius,
I'm told--someone low on the feudal
food-chain. After I earned it, I thought
I might go to law school, but my score
on the law-school admission exam was...
666. I took this as a revelation that law
might make me evil. So I entered
the hell of getting a doctorate in English.

I always thought of 6 as a friendly number--
not so edgy as 5, less slick than 7, more droll
than 4 or 8. I developed intuitive
relationships with numbers and days
of the week, nothing to do with math
or work. I hate gambling on any day.
To me it denotes "losing," and
casinos are beastly.

Whoever wrote the Book of Revelations:
a little manic, maybe? Too many numbers
for me, and horsemen and The Beast,
seals, and the anti-Christ: exhausting. Led
to too many bad horror movies (but to be
fair, also Bergman's The Seventh Seal,
which I view primarily as a comedy).

As to the Anti-Christ: too many suspects,
past and present.

6, I love you, Baby, more than three times.

hans ostrom 2022

For 7

(some notes follow the poem)

Seven looks so elegant in
Its two-line design.
Seven Sisters constellation:
Closest one to Earth.

We love Seven oh so much
When we're naming things
Such as mountains, soda pop,
Samurai and Cowboys, cliffs.

Seven's such a fulcrum age,
Social awareness grows, though
Innocence abides. It's a famous
Lucky number, though I'm not sure

Why. Oh, maybe God threw dice that
Day, betting with himself on
His creation.... Seventh son of
Seventh son--turn numbers into
Myths. And seven, being slick and
Prime, does have a certain swag.
Miller was the man who wrote in
Nineteen fifty six that it was more than co-

Incidence that seven seemed ubiquitous.
Mathematician Bellos, twenty-14, said he could
Prove that seven was the most popular of
Numbers worldwide. My friends the crows can

Count to six, thus leave respect to Seven:
Yes. Religions several have divided Heaven in-
To seven. Leave it to us to turn One Heaven into
Condominiums. I wish you luck this 7th day.

notes: George Miller, "The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on Our Capacity for Processing Information." Psychology Review, 1956. Alex Bellos, The Grapes of Math: How Life Reflects Numbers and Numbers Reflect Life, 2014.  "Counting Abilities of Crows," Covid Research Blog, 6-11-2015. The movie "The Magnificent Seven," 1960 ("heroic" cowboy-gunslingers) was based on "The Seven Samurai," Kurosawa's classic, 1954.

hans ostrom 2022

For 8

Between the celebrities 7 and 9,

you work quietly like the people who
keep societies going: parents, farmers,
masons, plumbers, janitors, maids,
nurses, teachers,....

Infinity, standing up. Something,
born of two nothings.

In a dream, I walked into a mild
desert and found an octagon, entered.
There were musicians playing,
and dancing, and warm laughter
at the edges, and eight blue
mountains in the distance.

hans ostrom 2022