A Fish Out Of Water


I am sure there are situations 
	In which you have been
Where things seem different 
	From what you are accustomed,
Where conversations are strained
	Where you feel like
A fish out of water.
	You just don't belong.

I was in one such place
	The other night
A bar it was, a local dive
	A place to drink
And a place to smoke
	A place to play pool
A place to talk, if you can
	And I was an invited guest.

Surely not my regular habitat
	For I don't drink nor smoke
And I haven't played pool 
	For twenty-five years or more
In a place with tables so crowded
	That I was more concerned
With my backswing
	Than I was my stroke!

And the music seemed too loud
	With words I could not hear.
The girl who invited me
	Had written one of the songs
And I listened so carefully
	Yet not a single word 
Could I discern
	"What were the words to that song?"

I had a conversation with myself
	"What am I doing here?"
To which I said,
	"This may not be where I'd choose,
But this is where I am,
	So the best of it
I will make."
	And that is what I did.

So I tried my hand at pool
	Just to see how rusty I could be
Challenging another guest
	And she beat me well!
So I retired to the side
	To observe the local sharks
With no one to take their bet
	They simply practiced their art.

I had an interesting conversation or two,
	With a couple people there
There was one guy who worked 
	Twenty-four years in aviation
And loved what he did
	And there was another guy
With just three weeks on the job
	Who was still seeking his stride.

And as I looked around
	There were plenty of strangers there
Each with a story
	Each with their own point of view,
Some of them little more comfortable than I
	But each willing to talk
Each wondering the other's connection
	To Elizabeth whose birthday party it was.

The guests were a cross-section of her life
	People from work and play
People from seminars
	People from near and far
And the band which she knew.
	I could tell that each one
Meant something to her
	Thus I was honored that I was invited too.

Then there was Karrie
	Perhaps Elizabeth's best friend of all
And a girl who I had coached
	Through some interesting times.
We've become best friends as well.
	Though this was not her style,
She seemed the life of the party
	And inspired me to also have some fun.

Eventually people began to dance
	And for a while I was a spectator 
Until I joined in
	I still thought the music loud
But somehow it didn't matter
	At least there was a beat 
To which I could move
	And I danced with both girls.

I guess the message for me in this
	No matter where I find myself
Or how out of place I feel
	I can take interest in the people there
Each with their story to tell
	And if I choose
Find some common ground
	From which to enrich my life.

                    


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