Poetry at Work: The Poetry of Retirement

In my book Poetry at Work, I conclude with a chapter on the poetry of retirement. At the time I wrote it, I didn’t have a set date for retiring, although the idea was taking on more importance. Early last summer, I informed my managers that I would be retiring in the spring. My official last day in the office was May 1.

Three weeks later, I’ve found myself with something of a surprise. I thought I would miss the daily routine, the crisis du jour, the adrenalin rush of being always on call, the constant checking of the cell phone buzzing with emails, texts and phone calls.

The surprise is that I haven’t missed it at all. It’s as if I walked out thinking I was part of an epic poem and instead found myself with a haiku, a short glance backwards and then it was done.

To continue reading, please see my post today at Tweetspeak Poetry.

Photograph by Paul Brennan via Public Domain Pictures. Used with permission.