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Over the Hill
Now that you’re “over the hill,”
Relax. Enjoy the view.
Life’s a beach, so chill.
Work? You’ve had your fill.
It’s time to just do you;
And now that you’re over the hill,
You’ve better ways to fill
The coming days. Your new
Life’s a beach, so chill.
Resolve to live a tranquil
Life. Let cares be few,
Now that you’re over the hill.
Hear the warblers trill.
Observe the sky, it’s blue.
Life’s a beach, so chill.
What dream can you fulfill?
What course can you pursue,
Now that you’re over the hill?
Life’s a beach, so chill.
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Falling Star
So here you are. It all comes down to this:
You’re not some figure painted on a Grecian urn,
Forever young and playing timbrels turn
By turn. You had your chance, a genesis
As good as any. That breathless urgency
Of youth is gone. Well what did you expect?
So give yourself the time to self-reflect,
Or not, but face your new reality—
Retired. You knew that it was bound to happen,
By choice or fate’s design. You’ve known success
And failure, illness, grief, the loneliness
And pain of unfulfilled desire; but when
Will you accept that this is where you are?
You blaze the western sky, a falling star.
First published in Passager
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Cheryl Corey is a poet who lives in Connecticut. “Three Sisters,” her trio of poems about the sisters of Fate which were first published by the Society of Classical Poets, are featured in “Gods and Monsters,” an anthology of mythological poems (MacMillan Children’s Books, 2023).
Cheryl, you have captured my retirement phase feelings perfectly. “Over the Hill” does not mean an emotionally depressing ending. We can still go out like the “Falling Star” in a blaze of glory leaving a trail over the horizon.
Roy, I find it hard to articulate the mixed feelings that I have about this time of my life. I tell myself that it’s meant to be, but the transition has often felt very strange. I guess what I’m trying to say with these poems is that there’s always something more that you can strive to achieve. It ain’t over til the fat lady sings, as the expression goes.
Cheryl, I love the straightforward eloquence of “Falling Star”. It’s got all the directness of the best free verse, accompanied with the beauty of the classical form. As Wordsworth commented on the sonnet form, “Nuns fret not at their convent’s narrow room.”
And, while I’m referencing Romantic poets, I love the shout-out to Keats, and how it’s more than just an Easter egg – how you actually get some mileage out of it.
I share a weekly sonnet with my college students, and, though its not the time of life they’re in, I think they will appreciate the style of your poem – not to mention it’s good for them to occasionally get a glimpse of the other end of their aspirations!
I hope you can impress upon your students how quickly the years go by. You wake up one day and you’re 60, yet it seems like only yesterday that you were 40.
Of course, we’d all prefer to be ‘under-the-hill’, but have to make the best of it. The trick is to stay active, as your last stanza in ‘Over the Hill’ advises.
I like the philosophy of ‘Falling Star’, that we need to blaze as long as possible, even as we’re falling.
Thanks for the reads, Cheryl.
To be active, yes; but also, to stay as healthy and be as strong as you can be for as long as possible. Every time I pick up the newspaper and see that another person that I went to high school with has died, it freaks me out. They never got to enjoy any retirement or “golden years”. And a neighbor of ours recently had a bad fall. One day he’s in his own home, the next he’s stuck in a nursing home. So yes, Paul, let’s keep blazing!
Good villanelle showing ambiguity about retirement, especially in the refrain line “Life’s a beach,” bringing to mind the common expression, “Life’s a bitch.” In addition, “so chill” seems to have a condescending tone to it, and of course “over the hill,” while it could have the congratulatory connotation of having overcome obstacles, is probably derogatory.
But things could be worse, as in the other trimeter villanelle I can think of:
https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/villanelle-8
Interesting that the poet John Davidson was dealing with the contrasting problem of not making enough money from his work to support his family, even though he was living apart from them for that very purpose.
As for “Falling Star,” I sometimes visit an exclusive retirement home when the retirees joke that they are all FIPs (formerly important persons). Keep up the good humor and the artistic work, Cheryl. You are quite right that attention to healthspan is just as important as attention to lifespan. Best wishes in new opportunities!
Thank you for taking the time to read and comment. I came across a trimeter villanelle, “The House On The Hill”, by Edwin A. Robinson, and thought that I’d give it go. https://poets.org/poem/house-hill
Cheryl,
It’s been eight years for me, and I wouldn’t trade one of them for any of the ones that came before, nor any of the former years for the latter! All marvelous!
Loved your tackling the tri-meter challenge. It reads well and smoothly segues in some important insights.
As for “Falling Star,” the whole is wonderfully summed up in the words, “Face your new reality.” In my case, I would go so far as to suggest that we, whenever possible, “embrace” it!
Then again, there are these words I recently saw on a t-shirt: “Hill? What hill? I don’t remember any hill?”
Thanks for your more helpful, sober, and insightful take on retirement!
I’m coming to embrace it more and more, James.
Falling Star was an eye-opener. Although I’m young, the third stanza hit me hard. Especially the lines:
“You knew that it was bound to happen…
…And pain of unfulfilled desire”
That’s because just like everyone else, I can’t escape old age either; so whenever I think of it, I get engulfed by fear. I believe true contentment comes from the fulfillment of long-stored desires. Lucky are those who fulfill them. Thanks for these poems, Cheryl.
Have enjoyed reading these beautiful poems. I can relate to the subject matter very much after writing my first villanelle in my retirement but I need to write one now in the standard form. Not as easy as it sounds. Thank you for the inspiration.
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