continuing the charge

continuing(kənˈtinyo͞o) the charge(CHärj)

retirement(rəˈtī(ə)rmənt)?

well-meaning friends lovingly suggest retirement to me:
sometimes with a plaintive(ˈplān(t)iv) question of when I’ll take that path,
sometimes a sureness of advice that it works so well for them
that they want me to be open
to the possibilities that fit(fit) who they are so well,

right now, I feel a rightness in my work,
a sureness that who I am hears a calling,
and still has the wherewithal(ˈ(h)werwiT͟Hˌôl, ˈ(h)werwiTHˌôl) to answer it well,
I see my school as a city upon a hill
within which the light that is in us can shine bright(brīt),
as long as I can still see the kids, the staff, the mission(ˈmiSHən),
and meet(mēt) it all with my own light,
my own mirror(ˈmirər) to gather and help focus the rightness,
I want to continue the charge,
I want to share my salt as long as it still has its savor(ˈsāvər),

for many, retirement allows travel(ˈtravəl),
for me, I can already find the way out, mostly in the summer:
Wyoming(wīˈōmiNG), Iceland, California, Canada,
even Hawaii and New Zealand(ˈzēlənd) once during the school year,
plus vacation(vāˈkāSHən,və-) time in the Smokies(ˈsmōkē),
where I don’t want to live,
for I don’t want to grow accustomed(əˈkəstəmd)
to what should reveal(rəˈvēl) every day as wonder,

deep in the night
I worry about how long body and mind will hold,
how long spirit(ˈspirit) can deny(dəˈnī) the dying of the light,
for as long as I hear the calling,
and can find true ways to act on that calling,
I plan to continue to help school, student, and staff
find the ways forward into the empowerment(əmˈpouərmənt)
that all of us want for our young.

by Henry H. Walker

https://henryspoetry.blogspot.com/2019/06/continuing-charge.html