A fading king's bequest
(on eve of metamorphosis to
    Guest Worker)

To Peter's care I entrust the bearers
   of royal mutations,
   My treasures from Tangier and other
   pirate quests, with
   blood rich for thinness in the A's or
   B or C's,
   holders of the transport secrets with
   which they endless tease,
   0 gentle and reluctant physician,
   ma.ster Apo-trician, save well all
   these who lack,
   For who knows, I ma.y someday
    want them ba.ck.

To Gerd, much an heir of the global
   view, messy lab and busy
   stew of searchings,
   I bequea.th a share of precious
   plasmas for his tea,
   Tangier, normal, or type III,

hybrid m&se, particles refined,
All you wish in complicated gear,
But please Gerd, no more than four
Proceedings in every year!

To Howard, sa.fa.ri-mate on
   la.te night dates to dissectionhorns,
   early mornings in 0. R. `s, clinic
   dates on countless noons,
   I will our freezers full of tissues,
   the bulging files stuffed tight with issues,
   diseases unexposed, pa.pers uncomposed,
   pickled cells and frozen genes,
   a.long with chain to hold him to the throne,
   Where is Howa.rd, 0 stifled moan,
  Page please, try again fro Dr. Sloan.

To Bryan, I leave the machine I
   never understood,
   The mysterious gurglings in the hood,
   miles of obscure ape's,
   fodder for the spinning cup,
  The little closet, privb cold room,
   J. B. C. page charges spelling doom,
   The Finnegan, so up and down,
   multiple sequences in a. crown.
   Brya.n, speak louder in the din,
   Have you finished Apo-Glq?


To Bob, risen from us to director, a.
   special gift from his protector,
   five roman numbers and a beta.-quant,
   Millions of the diet books, and
   John Brensike,
   some badly sca.rred first-drafts
   and the pen tha.t wounded them,
   many memories too numerous to
   count of years of rounding,
    Achilles knobs and baths of
   plasma; some-day it will demand a book,
   Mea.nwhile, Bob, promise: not
    a.nother interview with Look.

To Richey, I leave a desk if he will stay,
   provided he's there on
   clinic day,
   The line of patients to appease,
   To hand out resins, feel the palms,
   Work to ease the lipidemic qua.lms,
   A special gift will soothe you
   for these deeds,
   A twenty meter column full of beads.

To all of you, Joy/ Jan at the central desks
   central desks, Na.ncy keeping track,
   Betty, Barba.ra, Margaret, Leslie, and Luther
   ma.king believe that chemistry is
   routine, Roger and those hot
   ma.chines, Bob and his affair
   with Spinco, Lloyd a-bleeding rats,
   Eve and Linda clipping on the C's,
   Alice in the soap-suds, Briston
   and his fla.sks, Rose, Fa.irwell,
   and Edma n, Ba.rbara and her
    assa.ys, Anne and Ma.rgo and their gels, . . Elanne
   keep Conra.d away from the acid,
    a.nd Mel at his short sabbatica.1
    ta.sks. . . .  Steve and John,
   both nearly sonica ted, Harold
   indispensable.. D Except for
   Virginia, at my right hand. . .
   have I left anyone unmentioned?

Yes, a. host come and gone
gone, reaching way back in the
past- -

What can I say but

tha.nk you, it's been fun, my dears. . D
not very original, but all I can dare do,
for the very next sounds will be tears.