the outlaw

the cops on his trail,
he was an unwelcome guest
in my apartment
for a few hours

let him in to make a phone-call.
how could I be so stupid?
but I was kind to him
and he didn't directly threaten;
the unusual situation was apparent

we had a drink.
he told me all about his outlaw world:
his pretenses, his fights,
his pocket-full of hot hundreds,
his nightmares and sense
of being psychologically different,
his many robberies,
his ethnic minority excuses,
his vicious jail-house bullying,
the years awaiting him
in a dungeon for violent criminals

he stayed till the coast was clear
then disappeared
till I found him in the next day's paper:
the fugitive apprehended

I was so glad.
It's not like the movies.