Lady In Waiting (Poetry)

I’ve waited all my life in case of rescue
I’ve loitered by the window near the phone
some letter on the doormat love expected
to limit time in limbo spent alone

I’ve checked my stars and read the tea leaves daily
for any signs my lingering is done
impatient for release from dreary duty
it’s getting late but need insists he’ll come

I dangle faith’s last leaf in dark November
the winds around me sneering at my hold
I’m frailer by each hope-reducing minute
as daylight fades I’m losing my resolve

I saved my thoughts of Summer pinned to promise
when youth believed the pretty poem’s rhyme
and nurtured every nuance I imagined
would feed my longing line by line by line ...

The road shows empty and the phone stays silent
the shadow at my shoulder has a mind
to drop this old redundant job description
and grab the first good offer I can find