Awaiting

sorenbarrett

Death becomes a late visitor that promised to come hours ago.
The meal is set and getting cold.
Not even a fly has arrived carrying the message of his delay. 
Impatience wrinkles the brow of the host that sinks into his chair with tired bones.
Anticipation is overwhelmed by fatigue, his eyes droop. 
He sleeps.

Comments +

Comments12

  • nephilim56 ( Norman Dickson)

    Death has a fluid timetable

    • sorenbarrett

      Indeed it does often arriving at an unexpected time. Thanks so much Norman for the review and understanding words. They are most appreciated..

      • nephilim56 ( Norman Dickson)

        most welcome my friend

      • Lorenz

        We'll always be on time for the appointment even if we're asleep...

        • sorenbarrett

          A punctual man. Thanks for the read my friend it is appreciated

        • Paul Bell

          Some appointments you don't want to keep, but you know at some point you will.
          Sadly we all pay the piper in the end.

          • sorenbarrett

            Thank you my friend it is interesting to me that as I grow older what was fear of that meeting has grown into acceptance and anticipation. I appreciate your review and understanding words

          • Kevin Hulme

            I think we are all waiting. The Kettle is on.
            Tea Cups laid out. No message in my inbox.
            But he's a busy Man . Probably in Traffic.
            A fine write here and a fave.

            • sorenbarrett

              Thank you Kevin for your understanding and most generous words they are most appreciated

              • Kevin Hulme

                Happy to contribute. 👍

              • arqios

                Having lived with elders two generations up have brought such feelings and intersections. Sometimes I sit at a table and part of me waits... for them that have gone and for my own passing on.

                • sorenbarrett

                  Thank you my friend. I appreciate the review and for sharing that part that you identify with. We all wait although some of us are still preparing the meal.

                  • arqios

                    Timing is of the essence and quite often off kilter as well.

                  • Friendship

                    Your poem portrays the emotional state of a host waiting for a visitor (death) that has been delayed, reflecting the tension between hope and resignation.

                    • sorenbarrett

                      Thank you Friendship for your review it is most valued

                    • Jerry Reynolds

                      A fine write, sorenbarrett.

                      • sorenbarrett

                        Thanks so much Jerry it is appreciated

                      • orchidee

                        Good write SB. Yes, KP awaits eagerly (?) her next helping of sewage, dished up by me! lol. Well, I tell her it's got lots of protein in it. Dunno why she complains, while Fido and I have roast dinners. lol.

                        • sorenbarrett

                          Thanks so much Orchi enjoy your dinner

                        • Tristan Robert Lange

                          Soren, I love when death gets stripped of all its grandeur and becomes something almost absurdly ordinary. In fact, it is obsurdly ordinary. This one was right up my dark little alley. Loved it lots, my friend.🌹🖤🙏🕯️🐦‍⬛

                          • sorenbarrett

                            Thank you Tristan for the review and comment. Yes I see it as the most common of things, after all it happens to all. Picture it as either a wandering fellow or a loving woman.

                          • Goldfinch60

                            Death is a long way off yet soren.

                            Andy

                            • sorenbarrett

                              Thanks Andy yes he is known to run late

                            • Doggerel Dave

                              Missed this first time - apologies, Soren. Simple straightforward write I liked very much.
                              .
                              How relatable? Not very. Yes visit soon, well and truly accepted, but I'm not waiting around...

                              • sorenbarrett

                                Thanks so much for the read Dave I'm so glad you are not waiting around carpe diem I say. Hope you have many years to go.

                                • Doggerel Dave

                                  Cheers (as in cheery) Soren.

                                • Gelyn

                                  This piece paints such a vivid picture in my mind. I can almost see the lonely table set for an expected guest, the food growing cold, and the silence stretching as time slowly slips away. The image of a single fly carrying no message makes the absence feel even more haunting, as though even nature has forgotten the promise of death's arrival. The tired host waiting until anticipation gives way to sleep is both eerie and deeply human. A beautiful visualization of patience, mortality, and the strange uncertainty of waiting for the inevitable.

                                  • sorenbarrett

                                    Thank you Gelyn for the review of this piece it is deeply appreciated and your words valued. Yes as one grows older it feels like waiting for an expected guest that is delayed.

                                    • Gelyn

                                      You're welcome



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