The value
The worth
It’s a doggone shame
That such a nice boy
             like you
Has to have such a life
that a life.
What, a life?
What’s a life.
“A life is what you make of it.”
And I’ll take every bit
And I’ll add up all the days
            and I’ll get down on my knees
And I’ll beg for just one more.
One more square on the calendar
One more sunset
One more day at the beach
One more chess game
One more time making love
One more baseball game
One more morning newspaper
One more spin of
      that recording that says
      “Warm –motion -life.
      Dancing means
      that I’m alive
      and I can hear,
      I can swear
      and I can sweat
      and breathe
      and I can see
      and I am me
      and I can tell what
      I feel because I can be.

James E. Slotnick, 1982