Generations of Napping

             Generations of Napping

             Napping stayed with me,
              a gift from earliest days,
                that has aged so well.
               Briefly, at five years old,
              I bitterly refused, saying,
                     “No More Naps!”
                           but by six
       I had outgrown this foolishness.
            Much later, self-employed
           on a job site just after lunch,
      my boss allowed a plywood nap,
                 on a sheetrock pillow-
     wonderful, thoughtful man he was.

                 Then came retirement,
          watching myself declining labor,
         then came the reclining savored.
        But now, having recently acquired
               the status of grandfather,
              napping is an elevated joy.
                    With this new title 
             comes new responsibilities,
                   such as tut-tutting
               and extensive surmising.
   Not everyone can master these skills.
    Some might shirk and return to work
                 as though nothing new
                     this day had come.
                          But I will nap
                 with an infant in my lap
                as I did a generation ago.