my progress as an individual is measured by
my ability to sleep
my ability to wake, as tested
your great hatred for intimacy
our mutual attachment
one presumably dead ferret
two incurable diseases of the mind
five sleepless nights
seven wakeless days
eight individuals you have never met
fifteen necessary pills in three days, lacking
thirty days without productivity
one hundred eighty days of hope-filled waiting
and ten of them warding off hope-loss.