I Am Waiting

with apologies (and gratitude) to Lawrence Ferlinghetti
http://www.worldofpoetry.org/usop/dream5.htm

I am waiting for my ship to come in
and I am waiting
for inspiration to strike
and I am waiting
for America to change its mind
about the way we are in the world.

I am waiting in the express checkout lane
for a long time
before realizing in dismay
I have more than ten items in my cart
and none of those items
will make me
a better person
or help me make the world
a better place.

I am waiting for my doctor appointment -
the one the receptionist asked me to
come 15 minutes early for
so I could fill out 30 minutes of paperwork
and wait 45 minutes more.

I am waiting
for my blood to be drawn
I am waiting
for the pain to go away
I am waiting
for someone to tell me what’s wrong
why I’m over forty
and haven’t yet figured out
how to make a difference.

I am waiting
for the phone call to come
the one that will have the news
that will cause me
to act in a way
that will ultimately
once and for all
define me as a person
and I am waiting
perpetually and forever
for inspiration in the form of a mystical being
that looks something like a mermaid
and calls herself The Muse.
I am waiting for her
to speak directly into my ear
as I stare into a glowing screen
and my fingers race
over plastic keys taken out of a mold
by some underpaid person of color
on the other side of the world.

I am waiting
for this irony to not be lost on me.

Esperando la ultima ola
I am waiting to catch
my last wave of the day
to surf it into the beach as the sky
turns purple and pink
behind the sand dunes of my destiny.

I am waiting
for a decision to be made
I am waiting
for the sun to come up
I am lying awake
at 3:57 in the morning
waiting in the red glow of the digital clock
for sleep to begin
or the night to end
and I don’t even care anymore
which one comes first
just please let it come quickly.

I am waiting
for my prayers to be answered
I am waiting
to believe in the power of prayer
I am waiting
for a sign
from a god
for a sign
from any god
for a sign
that will tell me
the world is going to be all right
in spite of us.

I am waiting
for someone else
to rule the world for a while
and I am waiting
for the next invasion
I am even waiting
for little martian men
to land in America
and tell us
that space isn’t going to be the answer
that it’s just as bad where they are from.

I am waiting for the song to end
and I am waiting for a different song to start
and I am waiting at the intersection
of my life and my death
and I am waiting
for the light
I am waiting
for the light
I am waiting
for the light
for the light to finally change.