Waiting In Line - Thursday Evening Poetry
It's a little-known fact about us all. Everyone struggles to cope at times and this is what this poem is about: Consider the people, not just yourself.
Thoughts
On Monday I send you the poem “Plato’s Case” about our inability to see the world as it is, but also our inability to see people like they are.
“Waiting In Line” moves the thought forward in a similar direction. When standing in line in a supermarket you see many different people, with all kinds of ages, cultures, genders, families, and so on.
They all feel divergent emotions and have distinct thoughts with their own perspective you can never have. (That's even true for your partner who went shopping with you and knows you well.) Some fellow in-line-standers are nice, some are not but we are all connected by the pain in our lives.
Think about yourself, about the pain you felt and will feel. How much of it did you repress, how much of it did you share? I always have to listen to one of my favorite songs by Sufjan Steven when I think about it, because of this quote:
It's a little-known fact that I can't cope
I'm the champion of repressionSufjan Stevens - City of Roses
It's a little-known fact about us all. Everyone struggles to cope at times and this is what this poem is about: Consider the people, not just yourself.
Maybe the old grumpy man wants to be nice, but he is alone in the world, so cutting in line gives him minimal agency, and later at home, he regrets his actions. He needed compassing and still is.
Or maybe it’s the mother holding the crying child that annoys you to no end but she is the happiest person in the world because she lost her first child and all that pain can never be communicated or removed, but made better by the new love she feels.
The only thing that is sure, is the pain we all have. It won't leave us, it feels at home. It’s your choice, you can decide your pain is the most important and lash out, or you might decide to see it in others.