vingt
Zwanzig
По-русски
Decimal, sexegesimal, base twelve--
These are the patterns men have too long grasped.
Think now of "twenty". What this concept asks
Requires new thoughts. One decimates those selves
Who fail in duty to a caesar's whim,
A consul's orders. But each twentieth man--
No man could stand such danger. Understand:
Twenty has magic. Honor must go to him
In baseball with 20 homers, 20 years,
20 victories on the mound. And more--
20 points scored is honor in basketball,
20 touchdowns a goal the quarterback steers.
Twenty in years comes near the proto-adult,
The period when experience can be gained,
Marriage with full rights is to contemplate.
Twenty is potent in the student too--
The year one enters seniorhood. Past this,
The years 'twixt twelve and twenty are left behind
When one completes the training of one's mind.
Twenty in blackjack very often wins;
And in a horserace 20--to--1 is odds
A gambler savors. Twenty's a gambler's bet
When feeling lucky; how much more twenty intend
Than one alone can hope! From games to cards,
From age to numbers, nothing can match its force.
So on the 20th issue, a magazine
Takes rightful place on Literature's scene--
By earning merit. By a studied course
Of daring and difference, fiction, image and ode,
Risks and achievings. Twenty's a mighty mark
When many projects after few tries go dark.
Twenty is evidence letting one's readers know
The editor's serious, the writers content
To let their work grace such a polished page.
Honor to him who fills this virtual stage
With worthy attempts, with works toward honor bent!
Honor to those wise men investing hours
Perusing such lofty strivings! Honor to them
Who burn the midnight candle. Honor,again,
To all who lend such enterprise rare power!
Robert David Michael Cerello is an Objectivist philosopher, author and sonneteer presently dividing time between San Diego, California and Budapest, Hungary. He writes voluminously on movies, economics, theater, psychology, ancient history, and enjoys creating new songs, perfecting new recipes, reading, walking, world travel, not to mention guaranteeing his placement on NSA watch-lists with his irredentist views. His sonnets and literary analysis appear regularly in Danse Macabre.
