In the Years Unlikely to Come

Reading, reading anything
These days, as you weigh
Risks of addiction against
The approach of death

(Which is moving faster,
Which is likely to get here
First?) you have difficulty
Evaluating advice.

Everything you encounter
Startles you by focusing
On what to do in the frame
Of indefinitely living

(That is, if the document
Isn’t specifically focused
On the time close to death
And how to do a good job of it).

Each time, the sensation
Is tactile, like placing your palm
On a sleek surface that turns
Out to be knapped or rough.

What’s life’s texture doing here?
Life advice is like a sandwich—texture
With the crusts cut off—it’s just
All sandwich and then the void—

The place where sandwich ends,
The transition Is lost.
All sorts of dangers lurk
In living, trying to live

All those indefinite years
You’ll be living, trying
To achieve a worthy life—
But death in the near term?

That’s not usually
Included as an integral
Aspect of life advice.
Why not change your diet?