I thought it might be helpful for You
to have some information about me.
Written down, you know? On paper?

Of course, You know everything.
Work history, educational path,
all the skills and references—
though those don’t mean spit
anymore. Like the paper, which,
as You well know, is dinosauring
its way out of existence. Like fossil
fuels, come to think of it.

But I have to tell You, I’m
surprised by Your big question:

How well did you love?

You mean how I grew my soul
and tried to fix the broken places
in my karma?

Or maybe how I served others—
so much of that existence spent
doing unto and for others?
(Do animal rescues/placements
in good homes, some of them
mine, count?)

Listen:

I gave it my all to be a light
and do my bit to heal humanity.
I got lucky to get paid to stand
in front a lot of students and try
to teach them stuff. I was a big
rah-rah for writers, edited them,
published them. Wrote a lot, too,
interviewed folks, put their stories
into the world, mostly on flimsy
paper.

Wrote a bunch of not-so-hot poems.
Had fun doing it. (Poetry counts,
doesn’t it? Even the lousy ones
should count for major heart work.)

I think I accomplished most of the tasks
I didn’t know I set out for myself
in that lifetime, but…

How well did you love?

To quote another lady poet—
a really good one—I loved
to the depth and breadth
and height my soul could reach,
though it took some doing
with some people.

You know who I mean.

I loved heart-on-my-sleeve
imperfectly, as many, many others
loved me, some romantically,
many more friendshiply, and
I’m beyond grateful to them,
though there are more than
a few who deserve apologies,
no doubt.

Tell you what:

I’m pretty sure I lived and grew
in love, and that—I often theorized
when I drew breath—was the reason
You poofed us into existence,
gave us bodies and a lifetime
in which to use them.

Was I right?

If not, oh, what I’d give to do
it all over again, once more
with feeling and my thanks for
sending me into this experiment
in humanity.

Really, truly. Cross my heart
and hope to… Well, You know.

Best lifetime ever.
Amen.