The Day I Retire

Dr Ranbir Laishram
The day I walked away,
A century’s weight slipped from my shoulder-
Suddenly, I was light,
Unanchored, like a bird
Rising into a sky without walls.

Years of duty,
Chains forged from care and teaching,
Unclasped in a single afternoon.
I soared,
Freed from the quiet captivity of routine.

Yet, in the hush of the next morning,
Solitude settled beside me.
I counted the decades—
Two-thirds of a life
Given to healing, guiding,
To knowledge passed hand to hand.

Now, my hands tremble,
Not from age, but from emptiness—
The wisdom I gathered
Sits silent, No class to fill,
No eager eyes to meet my own.

Still, I listen for meaning
In the echo of quiet rooms.
Perhaps freedom is not flight alone,
But learning to carry
The weight of memory
With gentle hands,
And letting it shape
The open sky ahead.