ON BEING THE SAME AGE AS

Jane Fonda
Yes, that Jane Fonda

A similar arrival time
And geography of activity
Led to some sharing

The waning years of the great depression
World War II 
Watching the soldiers return

Then, for me
One school after another

And Jane became famous

The sharing stopped

Never any glamour here or requests to entertain
I promoted no one’s health
Moral outrage, I could never sustain
And was never invited to hobnob with wealth
Today, no star allure
Tempts me to reprise a public career

As for the future
Developments have occurred
Among the cohort we share
That suggest to me
A reason to rendezvous

I recently saw on TV
Jane, a model of coherence
No evidence of senescence
Or problems with balance
No muscles cramped, arthritic or stiff
Certainly no shortness of breath

Did we really share the same years?

Ms. Fonda
Some of us have moved beyond  you


Someday, should your heart announce
“It’s time”
Or other parts chime
In and you begin to imagine
Life’s slower lanes

I’m an early-arriver
And would have time
For palaver


DRK
1/26/16

I must fondly acknowledge Kenneth Boulding, an inspiring economist, social scientist and philosopher, whose insightful writings were laced with British wit.  If you were lucky enough to hear one of his presentations, you may want to join me.  He may be the only person I remember who used the term, “palaver.”