Poem: “Wait”

 

 

Wait

By Patrick T. Reardon

 

I wait for the stone to pass,

for the heel to heal,

for the tick to tock.

I wait out the clock.

 

Unnoticed, the grubs

and snits, the moist soil

where the bell tulip rots.

 

I wait for the call,

wait for the opening chord,

for the confessional door to slide,

for the baby to cry,

for the bell.

 

Yellow stem sticks,

maze of mourning, the

dead and the quick, the

blueshadow seed grown

brittle.

 

For the grave to settle,

for the lights,

for the next move,

for ashes to slow.

 

Church of chaos

decay, headquarters of

biological commerce,

the last first and so on.

 

I wait for the mosquito to stab,

for the door to click,

for the last leaf to fall,

for the sewer to drain,

for the Three Magi,

in limbo.

 

I alone escaped.

 

Under the viaduct,

to give up the ghost,

for the case to be settled,

for comment.

 

Corpse of the lucifer

rose, of the waltzing

lily, of the red-wing

gnat, alpha, omega.

 

I wait beside the road,

out in the cold,

alone,

for more.

I wait tables.

 

Bang and whimper,

lost souls, dead souls,

quiver and still, ignored

passion.

 

Leave him waiting,

empty and waiting,

hungry and waiting,

hidden and waiting,

in plain sight.

 

The unknown

savior of everything, the

mud scripture, the itch, the

whisper below notice.

 

I wait for the dust to settle.

 

Patrick T. Reardon

11.11.19

This poem was first published in Main Street Rag, Fall, 2019.