I said I would keep on living
as long as I was useful
She asked
“Do you consider being a lap for a cat useful?”
and I said, “Of course.”
and as I mulled that over
thinking of people and cats I’ve loved and love
I thought
“Perhaps as long as I can still love
a person or a cat
I can still be useful.”
and later I thought
“What can that love teach me
about how to go about
living from now
until when
I finally
wear
out?”
and the answer came back
“Feel that love as much as possible
in everything you think
communicate
create
and
do.”