Don’t Fall in Love (#poem)

The wisest thing I ever heard
Wasn’t “Give me some slack”
Or “I’ve got your back”
Or even the simple “Word”
No, the wisest thing I ever heard was
“Don’t fall in love”

Friend, husband, dad, and granddad
When he arrived the crowd roared with cheers
Respected and loved by reports and peers
He didn’t look happy, he didn’t seem sad
At his retirement party in his speech, he said
“Don’t fall in love”

His words stayed with me throughout my career
In a world of cutting edge, high stakes, and high tech
I kept moving forward, never looking back
Days, weeks, months turned into years
Leaving my job was my biggest fear
“Don’t fall in love” he said
“Don’t fall in love with your job because it can’t love you back”