Never, Never Retire

If work is love made visible,
do all retired people like me,
sipping endless cups of tea,
have somehow become loveless?

If I draw from this rich reservoir
I gleefully call "experience",
is it really an euphemism
for all the mistakes I've made?

Every newspaper is a daily treat,
still on reaching the final page
How do I greet when I meet
the angel of elite boredom?

If workplace has the hegemony
of defining one's societal identity
Am I now without a business card,
a nondescript "pensioner-at-large"?

A silent toast to bygone years,
But tell me why does retirement
have a connotation to befriend
better whisky and bitter men?

You can take it easy but beware
the casual death of your soul:
You'll lose your prolific fire;
Never, never retire.

kobial, 01.xi.06

Opening line borrowed from The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
Hat tip: Farhad M for the concept, on a jazz inspired night out