In the spring of each year
We wish you happiness
Now, in the springtime of your seventies
We wish you also serenity, longevity

Agile, active, alert, adroit
Must feel strange
To be the same age
as old people

71 is an odd number and a prime
A twin with the next prime, 73
While 72, in between, is abundant
And half a totient gross

So now at last you have every right
To be light, be happy, grateful
To be magisterial and possesive
Of all that is rightfully yours

The life you’ve lived
The lives you’ve loved
The loves you’ve lived
The standards you’ve lived up to

So now, at last rejoice, rejoice at where you have been
What you have done
Wherever you have ended up
With clear skies ahead for sailing on and on