“on waiting”

wait-
but don't wait for her

wait for the train that goes
to mexico that you
can't wait to hop
on because when
you do it'll
mean that
you're
away

wait for the summer that hasn't
come yet to end and
for the leaves to turn and
the weather that is just beginning
to get warm to
turn cold again

wait for the travels to be over
for new orleans to lose the new
for colors to fade
for lights to change
for hearts to fail
for planes to drop from the sky

wait-
wait-

wait for solutions to all
the problems that only
exist so far in your
head


wait for questions to appear
and be solved and
reappear

wait for answers that aren't
really forthcoming because
the questions were just
ones you asked in order to mark time

but don't wait for her

wait for a girl to change her mind
a dozen times in the course of
a strange springtime that
causes your heart to
brake
every time it nears the wall it's
about to hit
to avoid a crash

wait for a life that seems so
ordinary and an ambition that
seems so small to suddenly be
exactly what you want because
it feels right so long as the
hand you grasp every night as
you read her the newspaper in
bed belongs to someone who is
worth trading in all of those
big ideas that you gripped as
tightly as you now grasp that
hand because she is enough for you to change.

wait-
and don't feel ashamed of waiting
but don't wait for her

wait for a new song that
changes the way you hear all
the old songs
and wait for a new face that
changes the way you see all
the old faces-
even hers-
and if you never get
what you're waiting for
maybe you'll find that
you were waiting for
the right reasons