LONG
TIME WAITING
The
flowers in the baptistry
window of S. George's Church
Baghdad, wait for
Samia to come
with a pitcher of water,
and she, in the sacristy,
quietly waits for the Eucharist to
end.
While
the automatic
rifle of the soldier
awaiting orders on the hot deck
of the Aircraft Carrier
President Andrew Jackson,
is taken apart yet again
and cleaned
unhurriedly, meticulously
he, using up as much time
as possible.
At the
very time when children,
(Karima 2) in an
Iraqi schoolyard, wait
for the bell to
resume classes, the
study of their beloved
leader.
Winter
people await
the slow coming of spring;
in the southern hemisphere
they rue
the high cost of fuel,
wait for a mild winter if
they're lucky;
the negotiators, wait
to hear the nuance, the slightest
hint of change
towards agreement
the
watchman waits
for the sight of dawn. Is
not the coming of daylight
a sure thing?
Life
waits for love,
and the Lover waits
for an answer, a
smile, and the beloved
looking again in the
mirror, is
afraid
and the world waits
for a freshened remembrance,
a nosegay,
of the beauty of
peace.
Harold
MacDonald
February 2003
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