There's a light out
that's never been fixed
A stain on the side of the water cooler
No notices
or no one cares
This is life
This is the place I come daily
but it's not my home
Might as well throw a small cot in here
The old fluorescent light is now LED
It is brighter
Less harsh on my eyes
When will they replace me
with something more long lasting
A mindless thug I am
bouncing around the office
I engage in conversations
but rarely listen or absorb
Maybe I am too selfish
Will I miss this place when I retire
maybe shed a tear
Kinda funny that I may cry over something
that sucked up years of my life
for money I will never see
Tenacious on occasion.
Orderly always.
Unspoiled by opinions of others.
Generous to a fault.
Honesty is his only policy.
Outperforms what is expected.
Longing for Heaven.
Decisiveness is a strong point.
Backbone shows in the face of adversity.
Ideas that solves problems he owns.
Receptive to the opinions of others.
Downhill is now his direction of flight.
Old men dwell on living well
They still aspire although they tire
Spry or stiff they live as if
They won't collapse or soon expire
Like it or not they've made their lot
And learned to live with what they've got
But in their mind they know their kind
Won't come again so they remind
All those around what they could do
When the world was younger... and they were, too
But I think this kind of kind revision
Is most likely just another loss of vision
Once well-intended
morning sun alarmed my rise
voices stirred the field
tasks like steady watering —
enlisted day's living work
Then the old gates closed
the pathway seldom walked choked —
soil forgot the spade
plants shrank back for want of care
petals curled back deep within
Left unattended
the garden grows weeds of woe
memory withers —
branches sag beneath own weight
the reek of neglect lingers
Yet the ground still sighs
waiting for hand to return —
the soil lies furrowed
awaiting seeds cast resown
to sprout green in silent spring
Time to grasp the rake
kneel again between the rows
weed the listless out —
let gardening be mind's cure
for hiatus after frost
Watch the leaves swim in the wind
As Autumn’s corners unfurl
And as we sail on
On the face of reflective waters
In our relationship
Just you and I now empty nesters
No one to pester us
(but we miss drinking from the scuttlebutt)
As we greet and kiss the morning
(And each other)
Now I'm her knight in white
And she's my bride in white
Now its just us twain
Reflections of when we first met
This year, my darling love, you’ll receive more than flowers
Jewelry, candy, candles, gifts, kisses and chocolate bars
You will also get your AARP letter and your Medicare card
It’s vital that you take good care of yourself going forward.
Since you’re now sixty-five years old, you should feel blessed
Lucky, privileged and chosen. Please, please never get depressed
Age is always a good number, as long as you’re very healthy
And funny. The Almighty God is now watching over you regularly.
Eat well, drink more water, take your medications and vitamins daily
You’re now a senior, that’s a major step forward and a serious promotion
Since you’re retired, take a walk once a while. And that’s not being lazy.
You’ve worked all your life and have earned fair and square your pension
Your grandchildren and family will come to visit and spend time with you
I wish you a Landmark Birthday. Dear love, a blissful life is awaiting you.
P.S. This poem is dedicated to the sweet friend of my heart and soul.
Copyright © August 2025 Hébert Logerie, All rights reserved.
Hébert Logerie is the author of several collections of poetry.
(Cabin Sunset, summer 2025)
The Heat of the Moment
Settling into our new mountain cabin,
Dogs and humans equally overheated
In the shadeless August afternoon,
The only way to be is naked.
Stuff strewn around
Bed to one side, kitchen the other,
Camp chairs with panting dogs
On an old Persian rug in-between.
Cabin with unfinished interior
Waits for insulation, paneling and flooring,
But in this moment nothing is missing
Except maybe a fan.
No water we haven’t brought,
Nor power not in some kind of rechargeable battery,
Yet we find a strong signal FM station
Playing one classic rock song after another.
And it takes me back to another time
Living as a 70’s teen in the suburbs when FM was king,
Then in the 80’s as a young man off grid in the hills
When a stack of cassettes was all we had or wanted.
Those youthful times, family and friends are long gone
And yet here I am in old age,
Living the good life again with new family and friends
Still rocking on, out of time, out mind.
(8/10/25)
I used to have a medical co-pay when I had a job
sometimes it was thirty-five dollars, other times it was seventy
Now I have a Medicare card and supplemental insurance
Guess what?
My MasterCard can sleep
there is no co-pay
no money from me required at all
really?
Wow!
Good enough
a perk of being retired
Hear the tale of the green fields where I roam,
Leisure World, the place that I call home.
If you take strolls (a healthy habit),
at dawn or dusk, you'll see a rabbit.
(If you were faster, you could grab it)
You'll see four-legged, curly-haired cuties
who lead their pets while they do their duties,
and grey-brown squirrels on their haunches
meticulously chewing their lunches.
If your garden was ruined by a snail,
I ask, are you reading my mail?
See the colorful apples of my eyes -
hummingbirds and monarch butterflies.
But what I'd like to see most (pardon my sharin'),
is a coyote or a great white heron.
¥ ~ ~
¥ ¥
¥ ¥ ¥ twilight turns to grey
¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ old leaves falling one by one~
¥ \\ | | / ¥ ¥ bittersweet retreat
¥ \ | | /
|| | ¥
¥ ¥ / | \~ ¥
¥ ¥
You've worked so hard
for years on end
there's always bills to pay,
retirement brings
a welcome change
with days to spend your way.
Congrats to you
for getting here
enjoy yourself I say,
but a word of caution
from one who knows
those bills don't go away!
67 years 8 months, you are now of age
What achievements have you to gage
Married twice children there are four
What legacy is left as you walk out the door
Bowler. Firefighter, part time clown
Carpenter, DPW worker, man with a frown
Wonderful daughter, 2 boys and one stepson
To most this would be a lottery won
A failed engagement, divorce, a marriage of 41 years
Look back on my life, bring on the tears
Take a good long look and you clearly see
sixty-seven years, not where you thought you’d be
Clock counting down, retirement looms
A new chapter in life about to bloom
Pension set, financially sound
Damn I am not ready to just sit around
morning or evening
sun up or sunset
six am or pm
time does not matter
in a restful state
no clock in or clock out
no check in or check out
I open my windows
listen to bird speak
tweeting bird song
lilac’s fragrance wafts in
I smell freshly-cut grass
I am floating down life’s highway
unhurried and unworried
resuming restful retirement
morning and evening
i can entertain myself every day
painting cartooning writing
I like being alone
im unconcerned about other people
my retirement is great
i am free to just be
So we grow older it cannot be denied
and we grow to like this little life
this smaller, quieter style
less of this and none of that
and how does that suit you
with all your bits falling apart
Now look, there
on the outskirts
see the dust, rising
it's the future calling us in
our names are in its dirty mouth
our names are on its filthy list
Specific Types of Retirement Poems
Definition | What is Retirement in Poetry?
Poems Related to Retirement
evacuation, pullout, withdrawal, pullback, fallback, flight, ebb, separation, withdrawal, blockade, privacy, shelter, desolation, solitude, sequestration, aloofness, detachment, remoteness, aloneness, separateness, concealment, quarantine, retreat, hiding, beleaguerment, reclusion, reclusiveness, privateness, seclusiveness,