-- Waiting --

John Herlihy

Waiting an event that never arrives.

If it arrives, waiting need not survive.

The minutes and the hours of waiting,

Waiting for days and waiting for years.

We know waiting, nothing to learn;

The act of waiting teaches how to yearn.

Waiting for happiness, waiting for hope,

Never waiting for sorrow or despair.

Waiting for something about to happen,

Waiting for what may never happen.

We know waiting, nothing to learn;

The act of waiting feels like a burn.

Our impatient waiting feels like hell;

Patient waiting creates a magic spell.

Impatient waiting looks into an abyss;

Patient waiting often feels like bliss.

We know waiting, and waiting still;

The act of waiting can be a bitter pill.

Frigid winter waiting for summer,

The darkness waiting for the light,

The dawn waiting for the day,

Twilight waiting for the night.

I will wait for you forever, even until. . .

When you find me, I will be waiting still.

As I wait, I see there in the distance.

A brighter world surely lays waiting.

Waiting in space, there in the wings,

Waiting to arrive, with breath that sings.

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(c) John Herlihy 11 March 2020