Quince takes job on retirement, stressful work (4)
I believe the answer is:
poem
'work' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
I don't understand how the remainder of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for poem that I've seen before include "Piece of verse" , "Mope (anag.)" , "Rhyme" , "Literary composition, sometimes in verse" , "Ode" .)