53.

A German adage runs:
"In America, an hour is 40 minutes."
A Russian adage runs:
"The slower you go,
The farther you will be...."
When I identify President Gorbachev
With the German proverb,
I clearly see that his hour is 33 minutes.
The inimitable way he gave freedom
To Poland, Hungary, East Germany,
Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria and Romania,
He himself is the perfect synthesis
Of his saying and doing:
"History cannot wait; people cannot afford to waste time.
It may also be too late tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow may never come."
When I identify him
With the Russian proverb,
Slowness is founded upon patience —
Patience, patience, patience.
He has not given up.
He continues with his life-pilgrimage
Slowly, steadily and unerringly
To the farthest destination —
Mankind's nature-transformation.