I am not a poet.
I have not been to university:
no old lecturers have singled me out
for special things to come,
I have no plaques, no artifice;
I am not the word-worrying kind.
I am not a teacher,
and so have no notes on the side;
(draws of folded manuscript in
both neat and shabby hands) :
I am not bald or [...]

We live in an ageist society where ageing people are treated as second class
Where the ageing man and ageing woman are seen as inferior to the young man and the young lass
And the older you get life gets harder the future belong to the young
And so many on retirement pensions are lonely, forgotten [...]

For forty five years I’ve been working and I’m just an unfettered slave
And I have gray hairs to show for it I am quoting Kiwi Dave
Five years to go to retirement I was sixty last birthday
And ever since I’ve started working it’s been uphill all the way.
My ex wife said that I was [...]

It’s another New York City morning early in the day,
Peace is solemnly interrupted as panic breaks away,
Not once but twice, two planes level the Twin Towers,
Years planning & building destroyed in less than an hour.
It takes heart to swim in the Big Apple’s deep waters,
Fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, sons and daughters,
Most ran away before, [...]

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 [...]

What was is … since 1930;
the boys in my old gang
are senior partners. They start up
bald like baby birds
to embrace retirement.
At the altar of surrender,
I met you
in the hour of credulity.
How your misfortune came out clearly
to us at twenty.
At the gingerbread casino,
how innocent the nights we made it
on our Vesuvio martinis
with no vermouth but [...]

A pen–to register; a key–
That winds through secret wards
Are well assigned to Memory
By allegoric Bards.
As aptly, also, might be given
A Pencil to her hand;
That, softening objects, sometimes even
Outstrips the heart’s demand;
That smooths foregone distress, the lines
Of lingering care subdues,
Long-vanished happiness refines,
And clothes in brighter hues;
Yet, like a tool of Fancy, works
Those Spectres to dilate
That [...]

Retirement rendezvous
There is a member who is new
Who requires some type of rescue!
Looking back at life’s preview
He has had his kids
Been wise and stupid
Smoked enough weed
Aging exhibits on both eyelids
Retirement rendezvous
No more young dreams to pursue
A time he was young with hope
Goals matured and developed
But time took away that potential scope
Retirement rendezvous
Old age has [...]

RETIREMENT: An acquired belief that failure is impossible.
Investments made early-on, makes dividends more profitable.
Beneath it all, the pride of your labors will show.
Like a harvest moon or a brightly colored rainbow.
RETIREMENT: An emotional calmness, filled with tranquillity.
Extraordinary comforts – turn dreams into reality…
Holding this thought: Retirement is not a career ending…
New attractions, plus foresight [...]

The religious man
may have a questionable retirement plan
However,
his devout faith in God
will always pay him the highest dividends….
This poem was written/submitted by Ted Sheridan.