One thing I don’t do
is startle the cat
with loud trash bags
or swoosh back
the shower curtain
when he asks for water
as if I don’t care
that it makes him jump,
change his mind
about thirst or whether
he can trust me,
as if I think he needs to
get over it 
because the world
is full of trash bags
and shower curtains,
so he might as well
get used to it, no
one thing I don’t do
is cause him alarm, or
make him feel unsettled,
one thing I don’t do
is abdicate my role
in his feeling of safety
and one thing I keep in mind
is the consequence
of my own two hands.