Fast-shrift for George L. Kline

Somewhere in the sky between Bradley Field and Philadelphia

He served in the U. S. Air Force,
studied and taught philosophies,
translated me, of course —
for fun, not, alas, for colossal fees.
Now he is turning seventy.
Itʼs a moment of great solemnity!
At seventy, ah, at seventy
one switches from coffee to lemon tea,
thoughts acquire serenity
and the sharpness of peaks in Yosemity,
gravity yields to levity.
And itʼs an insane obscenity
to say that seventyʼs too late
for enterprise or passion:
just watch our George translate
from Russian.
As he is from Bryn Mawr
his motto, of course, is «Bring More!»

1991