IF “THOSE PEOPLE”
LIKE YOU

If “those people” like you

it is a bad sign.

It is the kiss of death.

This is the kind of thing we discuss

among ourselves.

We were about to throw out

a perfectly good man.

“They are always telling me

I’ve got to meet him! They

are always saying how superior

he is! And those who cannot

say he’s superior say ‘How Nice.’

Well! We know what this means.

The man’s insufferable. They’re

insufferable. How can he stand

them, if he means any good to us?”

It so happened I knew this man.

“You’ve got to meet him,” I said.

“He is superior, nice, and not at all

insufferable.” And this is true.

But the talk continued:

If “those people” like you

it is a bad sign.

It is the kiss of death.

Because that is the kind of thing

we talk about

among ourselves.