I Close My Eyes

I close my eyes like a good little boy at night in bed,
as I was told to do by my mother when she lived,
and before bed I brush my teeth and slip on my pajamas,
as I was told, and look forward to tomorrow.

I do all things required of me to make me
a citizen of sterling worth.
I keep a job and come home each evening for dinner.
I arrive at the same time on the same train
to give my family a sense of order.

I obey traffic signals. I am cordial to strangers,
I answer my mail promptly.
I keep a balanced checking account.
Why can't I live forever?

— David Ignatow from Against the Evidence: Selected Poems 1934-1994.
© Wesleyan University Press, 1994. Reprinted with permission.