Waiting Poem by Stanley Cooper

A lesson learned in the army
Which, I’m sure, is not out of date
Was neither soothing or balmy
But was how to “hurry and wait”

We waited in lines for our chow
Spam really not worth waiting for
Would never wait that long now
Don’t know why we waited before

We waited in lines for our shots
From needles as long as the lines
Our arms looked like bloody ink blots
Red grapes growing out on their vines

We wanted escape from the brass
We needed release from their clutch
We waited in lines for that pass
That pass we needed so much

We waited in lines for inspections
Inspections of all different sorts
The doctors looked for infections
Or perhaps some imported warts

To go to the bathroom we waited
The army then called them latrines
If you think we weren’t frustrated
You can tell that to the marines

The private awaits his one striping
The P F C waits for his two
The corporal awaits, always griping
Complaining his third stripe is due

The wait that was most universal
The wait that loomed very large
Was the only wait not perverse-al
The wait for our army discharge