Does One Matter?

One grain of sand on a sloping white beach
where children build castles before the tide's return.

 

One obscure star in a universe thick with flickering dots,
the backdrop for angel flights.

 

One elegant Fir tree nestled among hundreds lining a
rocky outcropping in the Sierra Nevadas.

 

One atom among 7 octillion in the structural
complexity of a human being.

 

One glistening Polar Bear almost lost in the
blowing snow that consumes a migrating family group.

 

One Covid "case"" alone in a dimly lit hospital hallway
lined with makeshift gurneys.

 

One smile, one laugh, one tear.

 

Would the absence of one yellow rose matter
in the cosmic bouquet of fragrant delight?

 

Does it make any difference that I am here
and then I am not?

 

What is the value of one?

 

Just one.