I have so little 
to give

except my life

which I do not
routinely consider
large or of value

although in its current size
and worth it may serve

as grain of sand in a precision machine

as killing germ or worm 
as parasite in an evil host

You grab me by the arms
and shake me
and your own head
saying no no no
you have so much to live for
and so much more about you 
is golden than you know

Hush
Be still 

As sand or virus
I take part
in cosmic order
in a time when stopping
the Machine or slaying
a Host bent on death
is truly all
we all have left to do

and you say
no no no
to my being
even a nameless piece
of how that happens

Try to be serious

It would be an honor
to be forgotten
to be anonymous
in the future

for that would mean
that I and the rest of 
the nameless who say

let them take me
if it stops them

made the future real