Waiting

Before, during, and after.

You ask, which one is the worst?

As the before means preparing 

and the after means knowing the answers,

the middle means you have to wait, nothing else.

Gathering my important information together,

I sent them in along with my name.

Once I was done, I then realized I have entered

in to the painful stage of all: the waiting.

Waiting

Waiting

the tick goes tock,

the time goes on.

I attempt to spend my days passing the time

With normal activities that would distract me.

I went to work to earn my paycheck

I spent time with family and friends to enjoy life.

I wrote poems and journaled that were overdue.

I even deep cleaned my messy bedroom.

(Yes, with that KonMari Method from Netflix.)

However I do find myself looking back in my email inbox,

refreshing it every ten minutes from time to time.

As the sun moves around the globe more

and humans like myself get older, 

the days become longer

and my anxious mind becomes larger.

Waiting

Waiting

the tick goes tock,

the time goes on.

The anxiety takes over the mind

Over an answer that dictates our motives and future.

We wait for an answer throughout life,

an answer that can be either both uplifting and discouraging.

An old man waiting on the results 

of a critical medical checkup

that determines if he will live longer or die shortly.

A young woman waiting 

on that phone call from her dream job

to tell her either when she will start 

or “Your qualifications does not meet our needs.”

A teenage boy waiting in the courtroom 

with his mother sitting behind him

on the judge who will tell him he is to either go home 

or stay longer for his mistakes.

A new mother waiting on the hospital bed 

after a painful delivery

for the nurse to bring in her miracle baby 

that is either breathing or as another corpse.

The anxiety of the mind tells us

a mixture of possible outcomes

from the acceptance that will change your life for the better

to questioning our own worth thanks to rejection.

Anxiety can be a huge bitch, am I correct?

I want to change my future as it is mine

but I am unable to do anything about it right now.

Like you, I have to wait.

We have to wait on an answer that 

we could not fight to get ourselves.

I want to make plans so fucking badly

of how to live, how to work, and how to breathe.

But until the green light goes up to go,

I am left here waiting on my future 

in someone else’s hands.

Waiting

Waiting

the tick goes tock,

the time goes on.

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Beginning of November

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Not the Hoe (You Can Take to the Courthouse)