Today XVI

Today,
he started the day
planning his retirement.

Plan A...
Plan B...
Plan down through the alphabet
and every Roman numeral
he could remember...

At last!
Passage from an uneventful and largely unnoticed stint
in the process of dubious production
to the lazy, carefree, horizontal motionlessness
of many a golden year...

A dream come true...
The premise driving
countless working hours...
And...
The finances wouldn't add up...

Today,
sitting across from a human resources director
pleads for an extension of his employment...