Thanks

The day is cold and the wind is bitter,
The ship is moored in the harbour,
And I wait to board it with a group of people.
I am depressed looking at the huge group around me,
As I have realised something horrible about this situation,
I don't know them well at all,
I would have the odd chat with some,
While I have never even spoken to others before.
My own friends all pulled out of this trip,
Because of one single day in the year,
Leaving me on my own to contend with strangers.
I'm expecting to receive the cold shoulder,
To be treated as an outsider,
After all, they don't know who I am,
While, I could hardly claim to know them at all.
In the beginning I was isolated,
But only because I was too shy to approach them,
I thought they would just ignore me,
So I sit on my own at a table,
And start to feel a little sea sick,
( I am notorious for being a poor traveller ).
I sit alone and close my eyes,
Hoping, without any real conviction,
That someone will come to my aid.
Suddenly, I hear someone call my name,
To my surprise,
I see the very group of people that I expected to shun me,
Standing in front of me trying to ease my pain.
In the end, my fears were in my mind,
They welcomed me with open arms,
Into their almost family-like group of friends.
That feeling of acceptance will stay with me for as long as I live,
Because, while it seems like a small thing to do for them,
To me, it meant I had companionship for the duration of the trip,
Something I didn't think I would have before I boarded the ship.
The trip was memorable,
As it feels like I have made a group of new friends,
I will never forget their treatment of me,
I was treated like one of them,
Like a good friend,
A gesture that will stay with me forever.
The trip is now over,
My heart lies heavy in my chest,
As I know that things will go back to normal,
With just the odd hello and idle piece of chit-chat in the corridors,
Being our only sign of recognising each other,
Yet, despite this,
I just want to thank them,
Thank them for treating me as a friend,
And for all the magical memories they have given me,
I will treasure those until the day I die.
So, thank you for everything,
You're a wonderful group of people,
Hopefully, we'll end up going on an another trip together again,
As I would then have an excuse to talk to you all,
And to get that feeling of acceptance once more.