Waiting

A man & woman wait by a window

for a third who’s overdue

The sky reddened with evening

as the hour of his arrival approached

& then passed    Your friend’s not coming

she says    He is coming her husband replies

despite the hollow halo of the streetlight

for he’s been promised

The evidence of the dark street    an hour later

& the clock’s progressive testimony    are proof

enough for her    She turns away

How will the husband feel if he turns

off the porch light    just before his friend arrives

hat in hand    apologetic for the unavoidable delay?

He waits    with proof of a different kind

~D. S. Martin