When Winter snuck in, brisk and chill,
And the last colored leaves had
Fallen from boughs glazed with rain,
And a blanket of soft clouds tucked
The world in to sleep, school was not done.
So trudged many to class, on such a day,
And I was traversing the Quad to Literature,
Where we would scrutinize and examine
The so-called "classics" in attempting
To pick apart and decipher
The author's hidden feelings and meaning.
And on my way, I met four more
All with the same problem as I.
Together we decided to travel so,
In fellowship, to Literature.
And of each of them, so I will tell
As how they seemed to me,
And how they behaved and spoke.

With a lad, we begin, by the name of Mark.
His uniform he wore with care:
Pants, chambray, tie, and sweater,
Yet wore a scruffy beard. Two different
Shoes, he wore on that day,
Of colors indistinguishable to he.
He was small of stature, yet his ego
Was anything but. A God of Fire,
He often professed, was he.
Quite vulgar at times, his actions bespoke,
And many a joke made he.
A loud voice he possessed,
Proclaiming his opinions without fear.
He thought long and hard, and kept
A small journal, in which to record
His ponderings and etymologies
As we travelled along.

My next companion was a lad named Robert.
Clad in shorts and a polo, with a
White long sleeve shirt underneath.
His hair was pointed on the sides and front,
And nothing could change its shape.
He often worked out, but to his chagrin,
Could not gain a pound of weight.
His skin was dark, and very proud
Of that was he. Good-humored he was,
Well-liked, and with plenty of wit.
A harder-working lad you would
Be pressed to find, and very involved was he:
President, captain, top of his class.
Although he had a slight communist tendency.

A lass named Madison travelled with us as well.
Slight and short in stature, with long brown hair,
Clad in a skirt and blue sweater.
An air of innocence surrounded her,
Not a fly nor a worm could she hurt.
She came from the mountains, and
Part tree she seemed to be.
Often she walked without shoes or socks,
Just her feet over dirt, sand or rock.
Always polite, she spoke never a curse
Although it was all bottled up inside.
Incredibly bright she was, from
Studying every waking hour, and
Also quite absent-minded.

The last of our company was Daniel,
Another young lad of intrigue.
Unlike the others, he was quite big and strong.
He lifted weights often, and it showed.
An athlete he was, of the grand game football.
His huge jug of water always accompanied he.
His dark hair stuck up in a ridge
On the top of his head. A slight
Southern drawl marked his speech,
As well as a good share of humor.
He was very clever, but tried not as
Much as he should. He could
Pass any test without a glance at the book.

And as I trudged to class,
With the companions of which I just told,
The journey became a bit less dreary.
We talked and we listened,
Joked, and complained a bit, too,
(especially of the latest "classic") but
Our spirits could not be dampened.
The clouds swirled overhead, seemed
Just ready to rain, but could not
On such good company.