We waited so long for answers
years went past like trains in the night
lights on, heading somewhere;
Back at the station ticket in hand
we waited till the memory of our
waiting decomposed in a lights out
going nowhere rustbelt town;
Our prayers for answers wore out
in the empty spaces between pews,
our hopes got outsourced somewhere else
where lights were on and years passed like trains;
We wait in line,
we observe the rituals
with diffident demeanour,
and the ticket in hand tells us
there are no answers.
Essential paradox of waiting so well portrayed.
‘Years passed like trains’ caught my attention out of the many allusions! A wait that never seems to end! Lovely poem!
A sharp but understated critical look at a contemporary issue.