Waiting

He was leaning against the wall out in
front of the building waiting for every
one else to arrive. That's what happens
when you make it a point of getting
twenty minutes early to every meeting.
The cigarette was almost down to the
filter. He took a final drag and felt the
fire press close to his skin. The butt
flew into the street like so many bodies
forgotten at the morgue. Out of the
corner of his eye he could see a woman
approaching from his right side. She
was carrying what appeared to be small
pieces of luggage in each hand. Each
of her steps felt hurried. She got close
to him and stopped. She set the cases
down and and wiped the sweat from
her brow with her left hand. "Excuse
me" she said, "Do you know where
1421 is?" "This is 1460 where we're
at right now. Maybe if you walk down
the block that way you'll hit it. It can't
be too far from here."he said. "I'm
running late to do make-up for a
video shoot and can't seem to find
the place." "Yeah, I haven't seen any
one else that looks like they're part of
some shoot. It's been pretty quiet
here since I've been waiting." he said.
"Would you happen to have a
cigarette?" she asked. He reached into
his coat pocket and pulled out the
pack. She looked inside and asked
"Are you sure? It's your last one?"
"Of course it is. Go ahead, take it."
She took his last cigarette and pulled
out a neon green lighter from her
right pants pocket. It quickly caught
the spark as she took a long drag.
"I know I'm already late but at this
point I sorta don't care. I got a flat
tire on my way over and now I can't
find the damn place. But thanks for
the smoke." she said. She seemed
to be around his age, young enough
but older than some. "Of course."
he said. "My name is Rand. I'm just
waiting for some friends. They'll be
here in a few minutes unless they're
running late." She was finishing the
cigarette and flicked it out into the
street. "My name is Cathy but you
can call me Cat." She reached into
her pocket and pulled out a card.
"Look me up sometime. If you ever
need a make-up artist or know
someone who does just let me
know. I swear I'll be more punctual
than this gig." "Thanks. I'll look
you up sometime." he said. " I should
get going. Don't want to be later
than I already am." she said. "Well,
good luck finding the place, Cat."
he said. "Thanks. See you around."
She grabbed her two cases and kept
walking down the street. Around
the corner he could swear that Brian's
car had just turned onto the street.
Now it was time to get down to
business.

Waiting

Season of relentless storms
Cracking thunder deafens
Streaking lightning blinds
Howls of beasts
What can you do
Days and nights of waiting
Passing time

This life spent
Standing in waiting.

He Who Waits

Horatius Augustus was done.

He was done waiting

for others.

He was done 

placing high expectations

on anyone by himself.

He had been waiting

for almost two hours

and told himself

he would wait

only

five minutes more

and then

give up.

He cracked the knuckles

in his left hand 

with his right

and looked 

around

to see

if anyone 

was coming.

He looked at the 

ground between his

feet and brought 

his hands together 

as he breathed in deeply.

He looked up 

and his eyes

saw a figure moving

towards him

with a confident gait

that could not be impeded

by anything less

than death itself.

He breathed in

pulled his shoulders back

and cracked

the bones 

in his upper back.

His right hand reached

for the hard

bit of safety

resting against himself

a final assurance

in the case

of any eventuality.

A Wait

It was four in the afternoon but it was his first time outside
that day. His eyes took an extra few seconds to adjust to
the overwhelming brightness of the sun. It was no surprise
that the driveway was as hot as it was on his bare feet.
She had left him a message saying she would be there
but he didn't see her or her car anywhere. He stood on the
sidewalk with his left hand shielding his eyes. She had
 to show up. She never ran late. Five minutes passed,
nothing. He went inside, disappointed. It wasn't like her.
He cracked open a beer from the refrigerator. He sucked
down half of it in one pull. His body began to sink into
the soft cushions of the couch. Where was she? Why had
she not called? He finished the rest of the beer and sprawled
himself on the couch. Each breath rose and fell with precise
regularity. His mind went on standby. As he lost track of
the time he could have sworn he heard the doorbell.

The Wait

I am waiting for the sun

only to find I am waiting

for myself.

I don't want to wait to see your face.

At the end of the day (Draft 2)

Two boys running loudly through the room

of adults standing in line, one woman working

the counter. Mutual impatience crept through

tapping feet and exhausted sighs. Their father

told them to sit down, be quiet.  His uniform

was as exhausted as his face. Empty threats

were repeated as their voices echoed farther

and farther into those listening.