retirement lost

it was a reasonable goal, when I was
young, naive enough to trust the promises
of politicians who, by the way, never keep promises…pay into the machine, they explained, in fact, we’ll help you…we’ll pass a law to nab it (I mean deduct it) 
from your hard-earned, blood, sweat and 
tears, wages…skim it  right off the 
top, so you don’t even miss it, for
safekeeping, in a special fund (unless 
of course we need it for, say, millionaire bailouts, those poor, rich misers who long 
to be billionaires…just a bit…you won’t 
even notice…and we’ll raise the age, 
people are living longer, healthier, these
days you know…to balance the books, 
add a sliding scale to incentivize you to 
work and pay longer into the slush…
I mean security fund…potāto…tomăto…
just wait until you’re 65…66…66 and 
4-5-6 months or more…or if you’re 
feeling immortal, retire at 70…72 in
a few years more to maximize your
return…it’s just a few years…it’s a 
gamble…what a deal… you live long
enough…they’re betting you won’t, and
actually have a plan for that too, cancel
accessible, affordable healthcare…but
I digress…it was a reasonable goal when
I was young and naive…as 70 fast 
approaches, this year in fact, I suppose
I made it, beat the odds, will finally claim
the ultimate reward, that big payout, except
I won’t be retiring any time soon…I can’t 
afford to do that…thank goodness I still
have a job and enough of my wits to work it

~kat

Na|GloPoWrMo 2026 Day 25 Prompt: Today’s challenge asks you to write your own poem in which you use at least three metaphors for a single thing, include an exclamation, ruminate on the definition of a word, and come back in the closing line to the image or idea with which you opened the poem.

I’m calling today’s glimmer “mission accomplished!” There is a certain satisfaction in accomplishing a task without any leftover parts! Our resident plecostomus has outgrown our meager 30 gallon fish tank…perfectly fine for tetras and snails, but totally inadequate for a monster, prehistoric looking ground feeder. We decided to gift our wine cabinet buffet hutch to a young couple we know…we don’t even drink wine!!! What were we thinking when we thought we needed that piece of furniture in our dining room…pass a shot of good bourbon on the rocks if you please! 😉 I ordered a rush tank cabinet and it arrived this week. Managed to dolly it up to the back porch and set to the task of piecing it together…let’s just say I am an expert with an allen wrench, the go-to tool for all furniture kits from China! A short three hours later, I had completed the project! It is beautiful, sturdy, and will make a nice addition to our dining area…and I can’t wait to introduce our pleco to his new digs! There are sure to be more photos to come!!!

Much love, peace, and glimmers to you! ~kat

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