Finished

Finished

May 19, 2025

I mowed my last lawn

I painted my last house

I poured my last concrete

I punched my last time card

I now have penchant for sun sets,

Ocean breezes,

A slower pace,

And longer memories

I walk hand in hand

With my wife of decades

Wondering why

We never made this happen previously

The nocturnals here are omnipresent

Not too loud, so as to repel

More subtle, more alluring

Patiently eroding my will to resist

I am becoming a creature of the night

Balancing my thousands of hours

Of early morning jump-starts

On the traffic caused by millions such as I was

The salt spray powers my enthusiasm

I locate expats with similar desires

No introductions too foreign

No welcomes too diminutive

I walk where I should have walked before

I surrender to the life I should have begun before

I am happier today than ever before

As for all things before, I am finished