I Will Arise Now
I will arise now, or not.
There is no hurry.
I can stroll,
stare at the nasturtiums
growing in the concrete planters
on the sidewalk,
or wander mid-morning,
reading the backs of cans,
comparing, at length,
the astonishing quantities of salt
in tomato
and lentil soup.
Once there was the evening rush:
off the bus,
late from another meeting,
grab and run,
get home, cook, sleep, start again
I tell what day it is
by the farmers’ market and the church bells.
Now I have a bus pass
and a weekday afternoon.
Perhaps the Hitchcock season.
Or the little cinema
still showing French films
older than I am.
Breakfast can wait.
It need not be
a buttered bagel
eaten one-handed
while emails
breed overnight like
cockroaches under kitchen cabinets.
People lose their heads after midnight.
I will arise when I feel like it
and feed the sparrows.
I see they’re digging up the street again.
Gas or sewer or fiber optic cables,
it’s always something.
I could be annoyed.
Or not.
Cats of course mastered
retirement long ago.
Boiling their brains
in the patch of sun or by the stove,
then stretch, then another nap.
Soon enough
it is lunchtime,
then a snooze,
then the pleasant question
of whether the moment
deserves tea
or something stronger.
No phones, no meetings,
no crises, no summons.
No one requiring
a piece of me
before lunch.
My day
belongs to no one else.
How, I wonder,
did I ever find the time
to go to work?
I will arise now.
Eventually.
The kettle’s boiling.
Written in response to W3#218. Thank you, Benjamin and David.
hi, Josie❣️
Just wanna let you know that this week’s W3, hosted by our beloved Jodi, is live until Monday:
https://skepticskaddish.com/2026/07/08/w3-prompt-219-weave-written-weekly/
Much love,
David
Thanks, David.
“ while emails
breed overnight like
cockroaches under kitchen cabinets.”
What a gem these lines are. I’ve just spent hours replying to emails!!
And I love the “reading the backs of cans “
“the astonishing quantities of salt
in tomato
and lentil soup.”
😁👏
They grow. They multiply. They metastasize.
They resist all efforts to contain and restrain them.
They are the Wild West of our nightmares and come with names like @HellOnWheels
What a fun way to play with Yeats! No purple glows and honey-bee hives. No lake, no linnets. Just concrete planters, soup cans, and peace and tranquility.
and the thing is to realise how lucky we are to have the time and enjoy it!
What a love moment of tranquility 🩷
You have me pondering what my retirement may be.
Delightful poem, too many favorite lines to name. The photo of the nasturtiums is a dazzler, too.
Brilliant, Josie! If only….! 🙄😉
I really enjoyed your poem It has a lovely mood of tranquillity and peace about it. Well done !
…..Rall
Every little detail of life can be woven into a beautiful poem, and that is what you’ve done in this piece.
The imagery evoked in lines such as
“while emails
breed overnight like
cockroaches under kitchen cabinets.
People lose their heads after midnight”….is rich and unforgettable.
My mind was immediately transported some neighborhoods I’ve lived in when I read the line “they’re always digging something”…well done ❤️Josie❤️ 👏
Josie, I love how this poem shows the joy of taking your time, where even soup cans, sparrows, street work, and a boiling kettle remind us that the day is finally yours.
Much love,
David
Your poem should be required reading for anyone contemplating retirement (and there’s a whoop of recognition from those of us who have already done it!)
Lovely, Josie…I can see you drifting through the day, happily unbothered. I too wonder how I ever found the time to work.
Not all of this is “true”. I have strolled the streets and stared at concrete planters. (The nasturtium photo was taken while I was doing exactly that this morning before breakfast. And I do remember the very strange feeling when just retired of being in a supermarket in the middle of the morning. And I do check the salt levels in prepared foods.) But I don’t go to the cinema in the afternoon, and I don’t haunt the supermarket aisles. Although I could.