donna_corless
TRULY WAITING
by James Ciletti

I hoped my ticket was punched, but. . .
so I truly waited for the Pope to
hammer the nails back into Noah’s ark;
WOW! The true poem stomped in
with muddy boots from
planting garlic in the Garden of Eden.
Now, I’m waiting for Lucifer
to apologize to Eve and
for my truly holy holy
first holy communion wafer
to get unstuck from
the roof of my mouth, then
give me a truly ecstatic
experience of God. Ever waiting
to kiss God, full on the lips.

I’m waiting for the light
at the end of the tunnel
to pierce the darkness of
America’s gun-toting soul
and shape all the metal
into water pumps, plows,
to relieve third world
drought and hungers.

Waiting to know what was said
to the V flying geese, then
I too can row my prayers
across the face of heaven,
kiss sweat off the armpit of my angel.
Waiting for redemption with my
eyes open in the morning sunlight.

Forever, waiting to see all my great-great-
great-great-great-grandparents who, as
Columbus sailed out of the harbor they
sailed into one another in procreative
lovemaking; centuries later
I wait to play bocci with them.

For years I’ve waited
to see Santa Claus, tell him,
“I don’t want a Daisy Red Ryder

BB Gun; I’m waiting for my parents
to reach through their burial vaults
and touch hands —
sit up — return
with my lost childhood.

If I wait long enough
I’ll forget about waiting
to shape-shift into
a singing gondolier
straw hat and all;

Waiting, waiting, waiting
for the Little Red Hen to drop
her golden egg into my cupped hands —
winning the lottery
will not feed
every hungry child.
Jesus? With your loaves and fishes —
where are you
when we need you?

I’ll forget waiting —
when my hands are empty
they are truly full. Yes, I am
truly waiting for you, my angel to
punch my ticket and kiss me
until my toes curl, my ears burn red.
Truly pure. Redeemed.

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: For me, creativity is in the doing. The joy of writing the “Truly Waiting” poem was discovering again — aspirations, desires, passions, that had been swept under the rug of my daily life.

IMAGE: “Waiting for Business” by Donna Corless. Prints available at fineartamerica.com.

ciletti

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: James Ciletti was the 2010-2012 Pikes Peak Poet Laureate. His poems and stories have appeared in regional and national publications. As a volunteer, each Thursday he mentors a creative writing workshop in a Colorado prison, and this year was honored as the Fremont Correctional Facility “Volunteer of the Year.” Ciletti’s latest book of poems is, Sunfire, and his poetry blog is www.plumlover.wordpress.com.