My Favorite Devonshire

Aging with Flare by Carolyn Devonshire Retirement for some means a rocking chair But I’m blasting forth on a contrail’s flare My 40-year career Swirls behind in Earth’s sphere And I’m ready to take on any dare Francine invited me to bungee jump I’ll skydive with Gwen - might end up a clump There’ll be no rocking chair As I hang-glide through air Thinking of age as a tiny speed bump I love “Aging with Flare” because it goes against the stereotype of retiring and sitting around and relaxing. It’s about still having fun in life and about the life inside of us, and how life is whatever we make it to be. Adding soup friends to the poem is a fun addition, along with humor - “ might end up a clump.” There’s risk, but the fun is worth it, because then we are truly living. The concluding line reinforces that mentality, along with the rocking chair symbolism. It makes me NOT want to be that person watching life, instead of living it. I want to be like Carolyn and make the most of my life.