RETIREMENT POEMS

Retirement - It's All in How You Play the Game, Isn't It?

Here is a humorous retirement poem that I found on the Internet. Unfortunately, the person who submitted this retirement poem to a retirment website didn't give his or her name. Thus, I am not able to give due credit to this individual.

Let's see now. How will I know when I am a senior.
Hmmmmmmm.....
Some places give me a senior's discount at 55, some at 60 and some
at 65.
My government pension will be sent to me when I am 65.
My company will arbitrarily retire me at 65. (I'm going to beat them
to the punch and retire at 60.)
So that means that parts of our society think 'senior' begins at 55.
How will I personally know?
Well, with a little bit of luck, I don't think I'll ever know.
It's all in how you play the game, isn't it?
- Unknown Wise Person's Submission to a Retirement Website

ANOTHER RETIREMENT POEM FROM THE RETIREMENT POEMS CAFE

Learn to live well, or fairly make your will;
You've played, and loved, and ate, and drunk your fill:
Walk sober off; before a sprightlier age
Comes tittering on, and shoves you from the stage:
Leave such to trifle with more grace and ease,
Whom Folly pleases, and whose Follies please.
- Alexander Pope (1688-1744), English satirical poet.

Retirement Poem

O, blest retirement! friend to life's decline -
How blest is he who crowns, in shades like these,
A youth of labor with an age of ease!
- Goldsmith.

Absence of occupation is not rest.
A mind quite vacant is a mind distress'd.
- William Cowper

An aged man is but a paltry thing,
A tattered coat upon a stick, unless
Soul clasp its hands and sing, and louder sing
For every tatter in its mortal dress.
- William Butler Yeats, Sailing to Byzantium

When I can look Life in the eyes,
Grown calm and very coldly wise,
Life will have given me the Truth,
And taken in exchange - my youth.
- Sara Teasdale

It is autumn; not without
But within me is the cold.
Youth and spring are all about;
It is I that have grown old.
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "Autumn Within"

Another Retirement Poem

TERMINUS
Ralph Waldo Emerson

It is time to be old,
To take in sail:--
The god of bounds,
Who sets to seas a shore,
Came to me in his fatal round,
And said: 'No more!
No farther spread
Thy broad ambitious branches, and thy root.
Fancy departs: no more invent,
Contract thy firmament
To compass of a tent.
There's not enough for this and that,
Make thy option which of two;
Economize the failing river,
Not the less revere the Giver,
Leave the many and hold the few.
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As the bird trims her to the gale,
I trim myself to the storm of time,
I man the rudder, reef the sail,
Obey the voice at eve obeyed at prime:
'Lowly faithful, banish fear,
Right onward drive unharmed;
The port, well worth the cruise, is near,
And every wave is charmed.'

Retirement Poem

O, blest retirement! friend to life's decline -
How blest is he who crowns, in shades like these,
A youth of labor with an age of ease!
- Goldsmith.

Modern Retirement Poem (Modified)
Retirement is the time of your life
for you to be
all that you planned to be.
To live life for the moment
to live happy, wild, and free.

Retirement Poems with a Zen Flavor

Ten thousand flowers in spring
the moon in autumn,
a cool breeze in summer,
snow in winter.
If your mind isn't clouded by unnecessary things,
this is the best season of your life.
- Wu-men

Youth, large, lusty, loving-
Youth, full of grace, force, fascination.
Do you know that Old Age may come after you with equal grace, force,
fascination?
- Walt Whitman (1819-92), U.S. poet. Youth, Day, Old Age and Night.

Funny Retirement Poems

Bill Hagen, work is now past you
Allow me these words to say
You are now free as a bird,
Today is your retirement day

Famous Retirement Poems

"Warning, When I Am An Old Woman, I Shall Wear Purple" has become a global phenomenon! Elizabeth Lucas has published her calligraphic
version of the poem nationally since 1984.
This poem that speaks of growing old in a wonderfully outrageous style was written in 1961 by Jenny Joseph who lives in Minchinhampton, England.

The poem is popularly known by many titles including, of course, the actual title "Warning", as well as by "When I Am An Old Woman", "The
Purple Poem", "Old Woman", "I Shall Wear Purple", simply "Purple" and by other affectionate names.

How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free: Retirement Wisdom That You Won't Get from Your Financial Advisor by Ernie Zelinski

With a focus on the non-financial aspects of retirement, How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free explores the myriad choices and decisions we are all confronted with in living out our retirement lives. Easy to read and well laid out, the bestselling non-financial retirement book on Amazon.com emphasizes preparing for retirement long before you retire. How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free is a provocative, entertaining, down-to-earth, and tremendously inspiring book that will help you get more joy and satisfaction out of all your retirement activities.

"Get this book if you look forward to a retirement with 'zing.' "
-Nancy Paradis, St. Petersburg Times

Purchase How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free on Amazon.com with this direct link:

How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free on Amazon.com

ANOTHER POEM FROM THE RETIREMENT POEMS CAFE

Here is retirement poem to inspire you to greater heights, regardless of your age:

Come, my friends,
'Tis not too late to seek a newer world.
Push off, and sitting well in order smite
The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds
To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths
Of all the western stars, until I die.
It may be that the gulfs will wash us down:
It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,
And see the great Achilles, whom we knew.
Tho' much is taken, much abides; and tho'
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved the earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
- From Ulysses by Alfred Tennyson

The Joy of Not Working: A Book for the Retired, Unemployed, and Overworked by Ernie Zelinski

The Joy of Not Working is all about learning to live every part of your life - employment, unemployment, retirement, and leisure time alike - to the fullest. You too can join the thousands of converts and learn to thrive at both work and play. Illustrated by eye-opening exercises, thought-provoking diagrams, and lively cartoons and quotations, The Joy of Not Working will guide you to enjoy life like never before.

Top 10 Reasons to Buy The Joy of Not Working

1. You are more independent and more creative than most people.

2. You were born a lover of life and not a workaholic.

3. You don't want the cheese; you just want to get out of the trap.

4. You like books that are reader friendly with lots of cartoons, quotations, and exercises.

5. You like books that make you smile and challenge traditional ways of living and thinking.

6. You agree with the words of Bertrand Russell: "To be able to fill leisure intelligently is the best product of civilization."

7. You are receptive to the concept that we can achieve more if we relax, enjoy life more, forget about what the majority in society thinks is important, and focus on the things that really matter.

8. Your parents and co-workers will not approve of your adopting this book as your lifestyle Bible.

9. You know a good deal when you see one - if a book has been published in 17 languages in 20 different countries and has sold over 225,000 copies, it must have great value.

10. You know something important that the hard workers of this world don't know: the secret to a happy and fulfilling life is to work smart and not hard.

This short review of The Joy of Not Working comes from the United States Department of State.

"A delightful indictment of workaholism and ways to counteract it. The author views unemployment as a true test of who one really is."
- U.S. Department of State Book Reviews

Purchase The Joy of Not Working on Amazon.com with this direct link:

The Joy of Not Working on Amazon.com

#1 of Two Retirement Poems by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Age is opportunity no less,
Than youth itself, though in another dress,
And as the evening twilight fades away,
The sky is filled with stars, invisible by day.
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

#2 of Two Retirement Poems by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Enjoy the Spring of Love and Youth,
To some good angel leave the rest;
For Time will teach thee soon the truth,
There are no birds in last year's nest!
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Top 10 Reasons to Buy and Read How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free

1. You are ready to claim your freedom from corporate life.

2. You want to follow your retirement dreams instead of someone else's.

3. As a spiritually and highly evolved human being you know that how to enjoy life to its fullest is much more important for creating an active, satisfying, and happy retirement than how much money you have saved.

4. Many retirement columnists and retirement seminar presenters have ranted and raved about this book. For instance, retirement columnist Nancy Paradis of the St. Petersburg Times in Florida advises, "Get this book if you look forward to a retirement with 'zing.' "

5. With it's great title and the inspirational subtile, this book makes the perfect retirement gift for the soon-to-be retired friend or for the person retiring at the office.

6. You agree that "Retirement is the beginning of life, not the end."

7. You have put money in proper perspective so that you don't need a million dollars to retire.

8. You want to generate great purpose in your entire retirement life with meaningful, creative pursuits.

9. You like finding extremely useful information about retirement such as The Get-a-Life Tree that you won't find in any other book, but which is acclaimed by people who have read How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free.

10. Above all, you want to make your retirement years the best years of your life.

Here is a poem written by a retiree who resides in Singapore.

Ode to Retirement
I can read and write and paint.
Can even aspire to be a saint.
Left alone,
I could travel, teach and tutor.
Share guide and mentor Someone.
You my friends can remain blind
And kind
Or see in me a New find
Making again a difference.
- Ramasami Natarajan

May you always have work for your hands to do.
May your pockets hold always a coin or two.
May the sun shine bright on your windowpane.
May the rainbow be certain to follow each rain.
May the hand of a friend always be near you.
And may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.
- Irish Retirement Blessing

Also See:
Retirement Letters from Readers of How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free

Retirement Jobs - The traditional Top Ten Retirement Jobs and the Top Ten Cool Retirement Jobs

5 More Reasons to Buy and Read How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free

1. You want to have a good day - everyday - when you retire!

2. You "Absolutely, Positively" want to retire happy, wild, and free.

3. You want to inspire yourself with new accomplishments once you retire.

4. You want to gain the courage to take early retirement - in fact, the earlier, the better.

5. You have always wanted to fire your boss and take control of your destiny.

#1 of Three Retirement Poems by Famous People

An elegant sufficiency, content,
Retirement, rural quiet, friendship, books,
Ease and alternate labour, useful life,
Progressive virtue, and approving Heaven!
- James Thomson, 1700-1748, Spring

#2 of Three Retirement Poems by Famous People

Don't you stay at home of evenings?
Don't you love a cushioned seat
In a corner, by the fireside, with your slippers on your feet?
- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

#3 of Three Retirement Poems by Famous People

Fear no more the heat o' th' sun,
Nor the furious winter's rages.
Thou thy worldly task hast done,
Home art gone and ta'en thy wages.
- William Shakespeare

A Retirement Poem by Richard Armour

Retired is being twice tired, I've thought
First tired of working,
Then tired of not.
- Richard Armour

A Retirement Poem by Robert Browning

Grow old with me!
The best is yet to be.
- Robert Browning

Download over half of How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free and several other Retirement E-books (in PDF format) by Ernie Zelinski at Free Retirement E-books at The Real Success Resource Center

Over 100,000 Copies Sold and Published in 7 Foreign Languages

"To be sure, retirement books are a glutted field, but most focus on money and financial planning. They
view the finish line as the last day of employment. That's where How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free begins."
- Jonathan Chevreau, Retirement Columnist, National Post

The following words of this poem were penned over 100 years ago by poet and writer Rudyard Kipling (perhaps better known for creating The Jungle Book)

I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who."
- Rudyard Kipling

It is not a retirement poem. This poem, however, can provide the basis for creating retirement speeches and retirement letters.

The Joy of Not Working: A Book for the Retired, Unemployed, and Overworked by Ernie J. Zelinski

The Joy of Not Working is all about learning to live every part of your life - employment, unemployment, retirement, and leisure time alike - to the fullest. You too can join the thousands of converts and learn to thrive at both work and play. Illustrated by eye-opening exercises, thought-provoking diagrams, and lively cartoons and quotations, The Joy of Not Working will guide you to enjoy life like never before.

Top 10 Reasons to Buy The Joy of Not Working

1. You are more independent and more creative than most people.

2. You were born a lover of life and not a workaholic.

3. You don't want the cheese; you just want to get out of the trap.

4. You like books that are reader friendly with lots of cartoons, quotations, and exercises.

5. You like books that make you smile and challenge traditional ways of living and thinking.

6. You agree with the words of Bertrand Russell: "To be able to fill leisure intelligently is the best product of civilization."

7. You are receptive to the concept that we can achieve more if we relax, enjoy life more, forget about what the majority in society thinks is important, and focus on the things that really matter.

8. Your parents and co-workers will not approve of your adopting this book as your lifestyle Bible.

9. You know a good deal when you see one - if a book has been published in 17 languages in 20 different countries and has sold over 225,000 copies, it must have great value.

10. You know something important that the hard workers of this world don't know: the secret to a happy and fulfilling life is to work smart and not hard.

Purchase The Joy of Not Working on Amazon.com with this direct link:

The Joy of Not Working on Amazon.com

Here is an e-mail that I received from Zain Fazal in April 2008:

Dear Mr. Zelinski,

I had just completed reading your book The Joy of Not Working and I must say, I am very relieved to know they're people out there who think like you do. The work ethic is modern day North America has always bothered me. I have seen what workaholics has done to family, friends I came to the conclusion a long time ago that this can't be as good as it gets there has to be more to life then work.

Every job I had has made me miserable (factory worker, donut fryer, warehouse worker, etc.) once I found out I didn't like a job. I quit right away. Because of this I face ridicule from my family and friends who believe they are some sort of martyrs by working 10-12 hours a day or working on weekends it drives me crazy when people think like this.

After reading The Joy of Not Working I am happy that I'm not the only one who thinks way! Your book is insightful, clever and witty, I. am going to be graduating from college with a diploma in Tourism and travel from Mohawk College. However in between looking for a job, I plan to do a bit of creative loafing of my own. I plan to learn to drive; learn to swim, among other things. Thank you for letting me know it's OK to not work hard and it's OK not to conform.

(I especially love the chapter regarding GNP) I only wish you had included the reply to the one negative letter that was sent to you about The Joy of Not Working .

Best regards,

Zain Fazal
Kitchener, Ontario

Purchase The Joy of Not Working on Amazon.com with this direct link:

The Joy of Not Working on Amazon.com