It is time to be old,
To take in sail:–
The god of bounds,
Who sets to seas a shore,
Came to me in his fatal round,
And said: ‘No more!
No farther spread
Thy broad ambitious branches, and thy root.
Fancy departs: no more invent,
Contract thy firmament
To compass of a tent.
There’s not enough for this and that,
Make thy option which of two;
Economize the failing river,
Not the less revere the Giver,
Leave the many and hold the few.
As the bird trims her to the gale,
I trim myself to the storm of time,
I man the rudder, reef the sail,
Obey the voice at eve obeyed at prime:
‘Lowly faithful, banish fear,
Right onward drive unharmed;
The port, well worth the cruise, is near,
And every wave is charmed.’

This poem was written/submitted by Waldo Emerson.

The joys of retirement are simple
you can lie around all day in bed
when the daytime soap operas get boring
pull the covers right over your head

You can watch all the re-runs of Oprah
with a coffee and snack in each hand
if the weather turns crap, head off for a nap
who said that retirement was bland

You can hibernate all through the winter
no more sloshing around in the snow
you don’t even need to put clothes on
what’s the point – there’s nowhere to go

You can thumb your nose at the alarm clock
no more early rising for you
no more dragging your ass on a Monday
leave that for us workers to do

The joys of retirement are simple
and I’m just a bit peeved at such luck
so until I retire from employment
working Monday to Friday can suck

By: Evelyn Macdonald

In the quiet country side out east of Cloud Chief
My family waited for my birth with anticipation
Dust was extra thick as we were in the dust bowl
But through it all I added one to the population

From Cloud Chief to Stillwater and on to Peoria
These stops on the Road of Life I called my home
Then after retirement I made the move to Yukon
To be near red dirt roads on which I love to roam

By: John McCornack

There is something I will Miss,
A Wonderful Colleague at the Office,

Having You around was always Nice,
You were always there for Help & Advice,

No More Long Work Hours, and Tense Mornings,
No More Work Pressure, No Deadline Warnings,

Now, Its Your Time to Chill and Relax,
Enjoy with Your Family, share Jokes and Gags,

After Your Retirement, Life will not be same,
You can spend hours on TV, or a Favorite Game.

Tons of Good Wishes I would like to send,
For a Joyful Future of my Retiring Friend !

This poem was written/submitted by Cindi.

Retirement’s a time we all hope to find,
With no clock to watch except in our mind.
The daily demands of the job that you choose,
Take its toll, and you worry, afraid you will lose
The thing you worked for all of the years
To leave only heartaches misery and tears

You are most fortunate to achieve your goal
And retire with health and family still whole.
With carefree days to spend as you will
If you like you can go and just sit on a hill
To take time to look and study the ground
And enjoy the beauty that’s spread all around

A happy time of your life it should be
For there are a great many wonders to see
Free time to do the things in your dreams
To camp, hurt, or fish the crystal clear streams
To get close to nature on intimate terms
It’s a good way to live as a person soon learns

By: Mahfooz Ali