Avoidin’ Quittin’ Time
by Odin Roark

Remember the anxiety
When 5 PM seemed years away
From that mid-afternoon break?

Laborers can’t wait
Secretaries pine for freshening up
Execs on the rise
Taste the anticipation
Jack on the rocks
Goose straight up

So it goes

So many watching the daily clock
Knowing time equals money
Yet needing a breath of freedom’s air
But where?

The ride home
Urban elbows and bad breath
Jammed into subway and bus confinement

Or

The short walk to where?
The bar?
The playground…kid waiting
The park…girlfriend waiting
The one room cave…loneliness waiting

So it goes

Finally retirement
Dreamt about for years
Lived out in…how long?
Surprising months?
Boring years?
How about depressing decades?

So it goes

Then there are some

Time clocks left behind
Anxiety and attachments left behind
Victimization and entitlements left behind

A naked wrinkled body
Free to be
Free to finally understand
Free to appreciate
How little is needed