Waiting

There is a long wait of the passengers
For the detouring and delayed bus
And the wait of the wintry grasses

The wait of the orchid on the window ledge
The wait of the diamond in an unknown mine
And the wait where you stop and watch

And there is a wait of this darkness
Which you are going to compress into words
A wait that is to spread out thin on the blank paper

Unlike winter stars holding their light in years
The wait after you finish writing
And the longer wait then

***

Changming Yuan, twice Pushcart nominee and author of Chansons of a Chinaman, who grew up in rural China and authored several books before moving to Canada, currently teaches writing in Vancouver and has had poetry appearing in Barrow Street, Best Canadian Poetry, London Magazine and 250 other literary publications worldwide.