POETRY -
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His Home Office Desk - photo by the Author
A Retired Man's Milieu
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A Man reaches a certain Age,
When he no longer gets up in the morning And goes off to work. It may be middle age time for him, Or old age time for him, As it was for me. This Age changes the Man’s daily life patterns. No business matters to attend to. No meetings to attend. No bosses to listen to. No co-workers to listen to. No subordinate workers to coach. No class lectures to prepare. No assignments to grade. No students to encourage. Vertical Divider
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A Man has to change his outlook on life,
When this Age of No Work occurs. He has to find a new Purpose for his life. He has to perceive the direction Of a new wind that blows across his path, And trim his sails for that new wind. This Age of No Work can be unsettling To the Man. His sense of self-worth may decline. His morale may suffer, With no one awaiting his next words, Or his next deeds. Except for the Little Woman he lives with. Who says she is happy He is there, And available to do the House Chores. |
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The Woman of the House may perceive that
there is an experienced Handy Man in the house. A Handy Man with plenty of time on his hands And no other outside jobs to be done. A Handy Man who collects generous Pension Checks at the first of each month. And who collects a Social Security check At the middle of the month. Both of which are very handy in paying for The Costs of their Lives. The checks keep the wolves from the door, And the Deputy Sheriff, With the Eviction Notice From ringing the front doorbell. These checks are a substitute for the Bacon Which he used to go to work for, And faithfully bring home on Payday, At the end of each month. The Man is happy that it turned out this way. For He was raised to believe that it was The Man of The House Who provided food, a roof, And warm beds for his wife and family. Forever! * * * But Sometimes, After the morning house chores are done, And the morning newspaper has been scanned, And the e-mail box has been cleared, The Retired Man sits in his Home Office, And has an empty feeling in his mind. He has checked his written and mental To-Do Lists of house chores. Vertical Divider
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Which, that morning,
Have no further entries in them. He double checks those lists To ensure his perception is correct. He examines his mental lists of Writing Projects, Which have been a source of mental stimulation for him for ten years. Alas! Or maybe, Hooray! He finds no unfinished Writing Projects To fill the rest of his day. He considers starting a new Writing Project, But finds himself with no Writing Ideas. And so, he finds himself to be A Retired Man With no Goal for that day. He ponders this Vacuum, this Milieu, With confusion and sadness. These feelings set in on him About 11:00 a.m. on those mornings When the To-Do lists are empty. He recognizes the symptoms of his Milieu. It has been happening to him for Two years, or more. * * * He has found a short-term cure for his Condition. He gets into his car, Parked nearby in the garage. And drives to see One of his three Favorite Places, Which are nearby and Waiting for his arrival. |
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A nearby place on Ocean Ave. - S. F.
9th Ave. & Judah St. - S. F.
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Junipero Serra Blvd. - Daly City
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There, He has a multitude of choices,
All sweet and yummy. He also satisfies his recently acquired taste For Morning Coffee. While consuming these delicacies, He frequently recalls his previous days When engaged in the Age of Work. Usually concluding: “It was Well Done." Vertical Divider
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While visiting one of his Favorite Places,
He sometimes ponders his Present, and When the pastry and coffee are consumed, He is usually satisfied with his life. The Way it turned out: His 50-year life with his good Wife, And with his Children and Grandchildren. And He thinks: “I could not ask for more!” |
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Mike Lambert is a long-time resident of San Francisco and led the effort to start Vistas & Byways in the fall of 2015. In an earlier life, he worked in the telecommunications industry for 35 years and taught at San Francisco State University’s College of Business for 15 years. He refutes the adage about old dogs and new tricks. He took up creative writing as a hobby at age 75. He recently self-published two novels and a collection of his short stories. His main fictional character is Jessica Jones, a single working girl in contemporary San Francisco. See his Author page at Amazon under the name of M. L. Lambert for more details.
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