No is a Sentence #1

“No.” is a sentence, complete and unequivocal. A distinct and emphatic voice when asked to do more.

I am retired which gives me room to voice my objection

When told my free time should be used to (fill in the blank).

There are grandchildren, from birth to now

I see them and I watch them breathe and bloom and grow. There is daughter, experiencing life, climbing high, And flying on a trapeze to celebrate her fiftieth year

The son-in-law keeps me online and rescues things from the top shelf While husband continues to climb to peaks from the valley floor

And walks in new shoes when the old wear out.

I relinquish those books, edited for thirty years

And hand them over to the younger with energy to spare.

My time is my own! I write of fond memories

And nurses who made a difference.

I read, I rest, I walk, and I long to travel

To places far and near.

I still have things to do and goals to fulfill. My time is limited; I do grow old.

I weigh options and feel free to say “No!”

Shannon E. Perry