Can I do it?
I want to be worthy
of the love my partner
bathes me in.
I want to be worthy
of my cats’ affection
through travel, neglect.
I want to be worthy
of my weeping beech
the shady cave beneath
and white firs, maples,
birches, oaks surrounding
our snug old house.
I want to be worthy
of my friends whose
lives encircle ours.
I want to be worthy
of my second life after
I died and was revived.
Let me spend it well
giving whatever I can
praising what I can.
• • •
Marge Piercy has published 20 poetry collections, most recently, On the Way Out, Turn Off the Light (Knopf, September 30, 2020]; and 17 novels, including Sex Wars. PM Press reissued Vida and Dance the Eagle to Sleep. They also brought out short stories The Cost of Lunch, Etc, and My Body, My Life [essays, poems]. She has read at over 500 venues in the U.S. and abroad. This is her fifth appearance in BoomerLitMag.