The Waiting Woman

I am the waiting woman

I sit by windows elbow on ledge – looking out but never seeing in
I sit in cars watching others drive by
I stand in lines behind mothers helping sons get loans for collage
I stand in aisles pretending to buy healthy food

I watch as women cry in banks
I watch as men drink away pain
I watch for something, someone, anything

And I never do anything to make my own fate
I don’t talk to the man down the hall
I don’t smile at the mothers reprimanding their children
I don’t move to the door to let life in

I simply wait