Ode to Second Son

His mother, an only child, wanted a big family,
So he came along two years after the first son.
Born in the Army hospital in Frankfurt;
After delivery, she sobbed, "It's another boy!"

"That's all right, dear," said the father,
"We'll enjoy another boy!"
And they did, after they recognized the
Remarkable differences between the two sons.

As much as any child can be
Said to resemble either of the parents,
The second son took after his father's family
In looks as well as persuasion.

He developed a gift of imagination,
Talked a blue streak all the time,
Read voraciously, excelled in school,
Sowed a little wild oats along the way.

The other kids said he was their parents' favorite,
They said he just required the most attention.
He was so thin when he was little that you
Could see his heart beating behind the rib cage.

He sang treble in the church choir, and in an opera;
Pursued dramatic arts in high school, college, and after.
Spent a year at a prep school for difficult boys,
Was accepted and matriculated at Yale University.

Then he entered his tai chi and proletarian period,
Working a variety of menial jobs, until, as a paralegal,
He found out that he was smarter than the associates,
And was being paid one-third their salaries.

Living with a gentle creature, who later
Turned out to have a core of spring steel,
He went to California's best law school,
And served in a variety of legal occupations.

Now he is a staid attorney at law in group practice,
The father of two fascinating children,
The husband of a nutritional scientist,
Altogether a splendid family man.

He fulfils the best of the Kimball tradition,
Who were known as devoted to their families,
Devoid of overweening ambition, but
Serious and thorough in their performance at work.