When do you stop being a poet

When do you stop being a poet, I asked myself.

You stop

When the scent of coffee ceases to please
And you no longer smile at your phone.

On the day you stop listening to music
And singing your favorite songs.

The instant you stop dreaming at night
or hoping to dream,

Or looking back at all your memories
And warming to the thought of many more.

I answered myself:
You do not let go of poetry for not writing.

Life itself, in excitement or boredom,
is a poem.

And simply being alive

is to be the poet.