RETIREMENT

Retirement,
Despite the advertising,
Is not freedom.
It is not a permanent weekend.
It is an invitation to set aside ambition,
Adjust your focus,
To what you might have done,
Had you been given the chance.
To be free of craving,
You will have to work,
As the fetters of ego,
Money, attention and applause,
Are strong.
Learn to polish and cherish,
Express gratitude,
For things seen and unseen.
Prepare the way,
For what is to come.
Tend the soil,
Remove the weeds,
And let go.
Time is growing shorter
And the time to do this,
Is now.