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On Retirement: 75 Poems

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75 Poems on Retirement is an anthology of poems by a diversity of male and female writers, all ranging in age from their fifties to their eighties. Some are retired; some are contemplating retirement; all offer their unique, sometimes disconcerting, sometimes witty, sometimes thoughtful insights into this turning point of one's life. Most of the poems are free-verse and brief in length, though all have the resonating power of reflection borne from personal experience. "Open House": I work as hard as I can / to have nothing to do. // Birds climb their rich ladder / of choruses. // They have tasted the top of the tree, / but they are not staying. // The whole sky says, / Your move.

I was skeptical when I read the title. "Retirement" sounds attractive but more like a porch swing than a poem. Relax. Well, there's a lot more to think about it, like these lines from the one by Kelly Cherry: "those who thought they could do better / than the old man / and were surprised / when they returned from far off / to discover that their hearts had burned down / and they had to rebuild." Take Me With You When You Go