Outsider Poem by Jim Coleman

Remember, in that pub, when they would not serve me
because of you? Or when, in Vermont,
however hard you tried, you couldn't
catch the bar girl's eye?
.
Or, in the terminal in Montreal,
when you were simply standing with your bags,
how that woman came up close to you and
hissed ‘fucking shit'?
.
Worth so much more than those who shun you.
Respected by all those who worked with you.
Loved by me and everyone who knows you.
You're the best of us.
.
And yet, when two old ladies unintentionally
blocked your way, instead of asking
them to move aside so you could see what
books were on the shelf,
.
you gave up and left the Tesco super store,
without the usual pre-loved book in hand.
"Why didn't you ask them to move? " I asked.
"I know my place", you said.