RETIREMENT

I worked so hard throughout my life,
And never thought I’d be
So easy and so laid back,
With every day so free.

But now I’m in retirement,
And the days are all my own.
I sit and answer letters,
But I rarely use the phone.

I take long walks along the beach,
Without a care or frown.
I eat just when I want to,
And I never drive to town.

I thought I’d miss the friends I had,
Each day that I was there.
The jokes around the coffee pot,
The stories that we’d share.

It’s funny when I think of it.
I see them in my dreams.
But most of them are free as well.
They’re happy too it seems.

And every month we gather,
To have breakfast as a group.
Those fellows that I worked with,
Keep each other in the loop.

We talk of times so long ago,
Of all the fun we had.
The general conclusion
Is it wasn’t quite so bad.

But then we had each other.
Wouldn’t go to work again.
‘Cos things have changed since we were there,
They’re different now, my friend.

We’ve all been asked to come back,
But we’re having too much fun.
With lots of beer and pizza,
And just lying in the sun.

If you compare the life we have,
To what we had before.
You’d have to be an idiot,
To think we wanted more.

We got out in the best of times.
While we were young at heart.
We’d do it once again, perhaps,
But don’t really want to start.

We’re happy in retirement,
Love our days here in the sun,
Just thinking of those poor souls,
Whose day has just begun.

But still I’m glad for all those years,
That I got up at dawn.
I think back and enjoy it,
As I lay in bed and yawn.

New sixty is old fifty,
Is what they say today.
So make sure you’ve still got it,
Before you fade away.

So if you are still working,
I’ll tell you, it’s no lie.
Just remember you should get out,
Before it’s time to die.