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By David Ignatow

For Harvey Shapiro

I stand and listen, head bowed,
to my inner complaint.
Persons passing by think
I am searching for a lost coin.
You’re fired, I yell inside
after an especially bad episode.
I’m letting you go without notice
or terminal pay. You just lost
another chance to make good.
But then I watch myself standing at the exit,
depressed and about to leave,
and wave myself back in wearily,
for who else could I get in my place
to do the job in dark, airless conditions?


David Ignatow, “Self-Employed” from Against the Evidence: Selected Poems 1934-1994. Copyright © 1993 by David Ignatow. Reprinted with the permission of Wesleyan University Press.

Source: Against the Evidence: Selected Poems 1934-1994 (Wesleyan University Press, 1993)

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Poet Bio

David Ignatow
David Ignatow was born in Brooklyn, and was largely self-educated. For years he worked odd jobs—at his father’s bindery and elsewhere—to support himself while he wrote poetry. His work eventually was published and he was offered teaching positions that allowed him to pursue poetry more actively. He also served as the editor of many magazines including American Poetry Review and as the poetry editor of The Nation. He was the recipient of numerous honors including the Bollingen Prize, two Guggenheim Fellowships, and many others. See More By This Poet

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