A Song Of Waiting Poem by Ananta Madhavan

A Song Of Waiting

Rating: 4.3


I rose at six O'clock
And hastened to Chepauk
To wait and see a Test Match, but rain began to fall.
I tried to hasten back;
Out for a ‘duck', alack!
I waited for a bally bus that never came at all.


I waited in a queue
From nine O'clock to two,
To pay my college fees before the penal end of term;
But when it was my turn,
I was obliged to learn
That waiting is no pastime for the bloke who isn't firm.

Thus life will slip away
In waiting every day,
And waiting has no ecstasies for me at any rate.
Still, some may be consoled
On being gently told,
"They also serve the Lord who only stand in queues and wait."

Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Topic(s) of this poem: Time
POET'S NOTES ABOUT THE POEM
Wrote this as an undergraduate,1952, for the college magazine's annual; felt proud it was printed. Scanned stanzas with a studied rhyme scheme, a wry echo from Milton's famous sonnet on his blindness in the last line.
COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Yu-ying Lee 04 June 2014

A really good poem.

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Colleen Courtney 05 June 2014

When you stop and think about it, we really do spend a lot of our time waiting. Must be the reason I bring a book with me wherever I go! Might as well learn something useful while waiting! Again!

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Valsa George 24 June 2014

Life is lost in endless waiting....! What else can we do when fated to stand in long queues.... Yes, They also serve who only stand and wait! I enjoyed the way you have adapted Milton's line to suit your purpose.....! If this poem had been written in your undergraduate days, it must be assumed that a great poetic gene has been active in you from teen years!

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A B Faniki 10 August 2019

I definatley enjoy it, is a humour and deligful piece. It put a smile on face. I beautiful poem. Ty

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Dr Antony Theodore 07 May 2016

Thus life will slip away In waiting every day, And waiting has no ecstasies for me at any rate. Still, some may be consoled On being gently told, They also serve the Lord who only stand in queues and wait. last sentence. quoting from eng. literature you find consolation on the situation of endless waiting.......... thank you dear. you are effective in stressing your ideas in this beautiful poem. tony

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Waiting is like a digging a pole, when we reach the end, Its like we have achieved something, But waiting requires patience, well written and nice to express, thank you.voted.10

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Anish Debnath 18 September 2015

greatly written.But waiting is one of the steps of achievement.We can't deny waiting though it is very abhorrent.

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Priyamvada Dilip Kumar 08 January 2015

I like this poem very much. One does spend a lot of time waiting for things to happen. I like the gentle irony of this poem. This is truer of India today than it has ever been before because one not only waits for worthwhile matters but also for totally worthless things, such as a VIP guest speaker at a college function, who expects a large, appreciative (unwillingly captive) audience!

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