Ghazal on Waiting by Jeanine Stevens

I ponder and squirrel away fatuous thoughts, decide to wait.

I know the danger that comes from indecision, still choose to wait.

Snow fell in South Texas last Christmas. A lacy shawl wraps a decrepit

sod house. Should we earthquake-proof the Alamo or decide to wait?

Enduring icons: Barbie in miniskirt with poodle, and a bottle of Coke.

A crisp white summer, perch in the sunlight, a cool porch in wait.

Garden silhouettes under glass pressed on handmade paper.

Faded letters from the front, unopened, unanswered, refuse to wait.

Artists gather in the morning. Bagels, cream cheese and berries.

Raw boxes for decoupage, blank cards for verse, content to wait.

Jeanine Stevens has three Pushcart Nominations, and was the 2013 winner of The Macguffin Poet Hunt for her poem "New Delhi," judged by Philip Levine. Her work has appeared in Poet Lore, South Dakota Review, Valparaiso Poetry Journal and Ekphrasis. She is the author of "Sailing on Milkweed."