Blue Numbers

those numbers
on your forearm
you don’t try
to hide them

you raise a glass
of water to the sun
l’chaim
you’re still alive

it’s not an act
breathing isn’t a reflex
it’s a miracle

sunlight and water
and six blue digits

a tattoo you couldn’t imagine
a lottery number
you somehow won

David Gershator was born on Mount Carmel in Israel and now lives in the U.S. Virgin Islands. He is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Humanities literature grant and a New York State CAPS poetry award; his work has appeared in numerous anthologies and journals.