Too Old, Too Young
When I'm too old to toil too young to die
I'll write some lines while my brain's still spry
not say in English gone fishing but Greek
a private joke only scholars find wry
Sing to me muses in tongues I can't speak
tone poems in languages I can't name
crystallize images happy or bleak
so my words can attribute blame or fame
Translate your meaning so I get your drift
Let me hear your music framing your chords
picture your meaning in words I can shift
into metrical patterns weaving your words
Sing to me muse with voice universal
each time I recite without rehearsal.
Dick Russell, September 2021
