my shirt by Stephen House

 

the guy standing next to me

in the front bar of the pub

is wearing my shirt

it’s actually not mine now

but until a week ago it was

and then i gave it back to the op shop

the same op shop where i bought it

wore it a few times 

and found the neck scratched 

i was cleaning up my stuff

trying to de-clutter the house a bit

in case i drop dead soon

not wanting my son

to have to clean up  

too much crap i’ve held on to

‘nice shirt’ i say with a grin to the guy

deciding to play a game

and he smiles and says ‘thanks mate’

and then i add

‘but the neck is fucking prickly

so i took it back’

and i point in the direction 

of the opportunity shop down the road

and he laughs and pulls at the neck

‘yes the neck is so fucked’ he says 

and then looks at my black t shirt

with a green pattern on it

i point towards the op shop and nod yep

and he laughs and asks me

when i’m taking the t shirt back there

as he wouldn’t mind buying it

and then he invites me to join him 

at a table outside with my beer

and we go outside and sit and drink 

and share stories about the best bargains 

we’ve had buying second-hand clothes  

  

Stephen House has won many awards and nominations as a poet, playwright, and actor. He’s had 20 plays produced with many published by Australian Plays Transform. He’s received several international literature residencies from The Australia Council for the Arts, and an Asialink India literature residency. He’s had two chapbooks published by ICOE Press Australia: ‘real and unreal’ poetry and ‘The Ajoona Guest House’ monologue. His next book drops soon. He performs his acclaimed monologues widely. Stephen’s play, ‘Johnny Chico’ ran in Spain for 4 years.