‘Twas the night before retirement, when all through his head,
Not a thought was stirring, not even a dread.
The work was completed, the colleagues be missed,
Across the threshold, his wife he had kissed.
The children had gone, their careers embryonic,
While visions of grandchildren gave quite the tonic.
His wife with her interests, and him with his plans,
They approached their next phase like young, eager fans.
When on the TV there came quite a matter,
He stopped to listen; his mind full of chatter.
Quick to his computer, had he left it too late?
Nervously he logged in to see his new fate.
The news on this day gave cause for concern,
but what it all meant he could not discern.
A fear lingered on in the pit of his belly,
From the grave news he had seen earlier on the telly.
What mistake had he made? Could their money be stronger?
Should he have stayed working for longer?
As he sat down slowly to think it all through,
A vision appeared; someone he knew.
Familiar he was, though his face he couldn’t recall
Older somehow but that wasn’t all,
Eyes full of joy, a lightness of heart,
This man had made living an art.
His days were full, his experiences many,
Retirement was not spent saving the penny.
A camera full of photos he kept in his hand,
Of things he had done, long walks in golden sand,
Experiences, some old, some new, he never wavered,
After all, this life is to be savoured.
He was older and wiser, a real ‘life’ achiever,
Others might call it having joie de vivre.
He gazed to the distance, as though memories he was listing,
Realising the message, the man’s eyes started misting.
The work was done, his identity known.
Himself twenty years on, is what he’d been shown.
Then he remembered the advice he’d been given,
“On short-term news your plan isn’t driven”
With a sigh of relief all was well again,
Thanks to counsel from one Andrew Neligan.
Back down the stairs he excitedly bounded
“It’s OK my dear.” to his wife he expounded,
“To Paris, to Sydney, to Auckland and Rome!
To Madrid, to Zurich, to Athens then home!
This retirement’s for living, for doing it all.
We’ve laboured too long, let us not stall.”
Having worked four long decades a new chapter awaits,
So onwards and upwards, keep spinning the plates!
And then in an instant they knew it was time,
Much to be done while still in their prime.
All that was left was an echo from the distance:
“Retirement is for living, not just existence.”
