SOME THOUGHTS ON RETIREMENT

I might not choose to retire this week
Even if I won a lottery
And had all the money that I would need
To go on cruises and expensive trips
And buy houses for my kids in today’s hot market
And pay their tuition at Harvard or Stanford
And book the Royal Suite at the Hotel McDonald
For days, or weeks, or months at a time
And buy the most expensive wine on the menu.

I might not choose to retire this week
Even though I’m doing so well on holidays
Not getting up before 7:30
Having a nap in the afternoon sunshine,
Thinking of work whenever I want to
But never because I have to.

Come Monday morning I’ll crawl out of bed
And into the shower to wash off the cobwebs
And groan as I climb all the steps from the valley
And count the weeks until my next holiday.
On the way to work where I’ll hope to remember
Why I might not have chosen to retire this week
Even if I won a lottery.