A STORY. 123. THE TIME FOR WAITING IS COMPLETED

You like that title. The Time for Waiting is Completed.

You turn to the poem:
https://elsasemporium.com/waiting-completed.html

I wait
but the time for waiting is completed
Yet I stay
though staying is not needed

I linger tinker toy play
Yet have a longing to get away

Still I wait
I fidget fumble kick and grumble
Still I wait
like a baby bird at the edge
wings untried
why oh why
should it fly?

You think back to Ruminations, to going this way and that, but getting nothing done. You have been feeling as stuck as that baby bird.

But you’re a pretty old bird. There is no one to give you a push.

So I wait
but the work has long been done
Yet I stay
when long ago I should have gone

I am edgy restless snappy tense
The air is clear
The air is cool
The breeze is fresh
I sit and stew

Maybe, you think, you can give yourself a push. But how?

I wait
but the time for waiting is completed
But I stay
when leaving is needed

But where to go?
I don't know
The world's immense

I am lost
unless I stay
But I am lost
right here

I've lost my way
my nerve
my drive

I want to have arrived

Yes, that’s you. You want the book completed, printed. You want a hard copy in hand, a few copies in the university bookstore, and another copy in the university library. Maybe there can be some presentation, you talking about the inspiration for this book where you have been totally stuck.

I want to have arrived

But where?
I have no map
and anyhow
it would be out of date
borders have been changing fast
of late

So I wait

I wait
but the time for waiting is completed
what is needed
is
to
go

and go
on

Yes, you need to go, and to go on from there.

You sit in silence, unmoving.

And then it comes to you. You think of a new way of starting Ruminations. You will start with The Time for Waiting is Completed - yourself at your desk, knowing that the time for waiting is completed, but going nowhere. Yes, that will be it.

You shake your head and wonder: how does anyone know what first step to take? You still don’t know if it’s a good step, but you know it’s the step you will be taking.

To be continued . . .

A STORY. ALL THE CHAPTERS ... UP TO NOW:
elsaiselsa.substack.com/p/a-story-table-of-contents-up-to-now

Posted May 16, 2025