Those People

He's one of those people.  Everyone knows them,

But not everyone likes him.

He'll give you the giggles or give you a fright,

But if you know him, you know he'll back you in a fight.

She works hard to maintain and show

Her knowing all there is to know.

I don't know how she lived out of academe.

I don't know how she plans to leave,

But her stories are better than the stuff that I do.

Come to think of it, she'd back you in a fight, too.

She's too young to live by such solid convictions,

To carry herself with such careless distinction,

A study in beautifully balanced contradiction –

She's brilliant but physical,

Scientific but spiritual,

Quick to laugh and quick to anger.

She lets me laugh at her and thank her.

He's the perfect husband for the fall of civilization –

He's publicly accepting and libertarian,

But lives his life out whole, in private.

If you have a load, he'll help you drive it,

A mountain of questions, he'll help you climb it.

He keeps his promises and schedules.

He's a gentleman scholar, affable,

Old-fashioned acceptance of the new,

Awake to the world and seeing it through.

My favorite people have enemies.

They don't always appease or appeal.

I don't always get along with them either,

But my life would be monochrome

If I was dumb enough to leave them.

They'll never be mistaken for other people.