Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Linda Pastan's poem "Waiting Room" is a profound reflection on the universal experience of waiting and the passage of time, capturing the tension, uncertainty, and inevitability that accompany these moments in our lives. Through vivid imagery and personal reflection, the poem explores how waiting shapes our existence and our relationship with time, revealing both its mundane and existential dimensions.

The poem begins with a specific memory: "On line once, waiting for a Greyhound bus / I stood behind a woman with the same look / my father wore for weeks, waiting to die." This opening sets the tone for the poem by linking the everyday act of waiting—something as ordinary as standing in line for a bus—with the weighty, profound experience of waiting for death. The comparison between the woman's expression and the speaker's father's demeanor introduces a theme of waiting as a preparation for something inevitable and final, suggesting that waiting, in its many forms, is a practice for the ultimate wait: the end of life.

Pastan then expands on this theme, noting how "we practice all our lives waiting." The poem lists various mundane situations where waiting occurs—on "supermarket lines burdened by produce," by "telephones whose mute refusals / make silence absolute," and "under clocks with insect numbers / and arrows pointing nowhere." These examples convey the frustration, the sense of futility, and the passage of time that waiting often entails. The phrase "arrows pointing nowhere" evokes the disorientation and lack of direction that can accompany these moments, where time seems to stretch on without purpose or end.

The speaker observes that "Time is the lover here, breathing down your neck," personifying time as a presence that is both intimate and oppressive. This metaphor suggests that time is constantly with us, closely following our every move, yet it is also elusive and untrustworthy: "when you need him most, he'll disappear." This line captures the paradox of time—it is always there, yet when we seek to control or understand it, it slips away, leaving us in a state of uncertainty.

The poem then shifts to a broader reflection on the nature of waiting, describing it as "like this caught in the shallows, waiting to be born," and "divided among suitcases, waiting to be left, to leave." These lines evoke the idea that waiting is an inherent part of life's transitions, from the very beginning (waiting to be born) to moments of departure and separation. The image of being "divided among suitcases" suggests the fragmentation and ambivalence that can accompany these transitions, as we find ourselves suspended between different stages of life, unsure whether we are coming or going.

The poem concludes with a personal memory of the speaker as a child, "waiting to grow up," leaning "against the sundial my father built." The sundial, a device that measures time through the movement of the sun, becomes a powerful symbol of the passage of time and the inevitability of aging. The sun's "knife-edged shadow" cutting "across the knotted years" conveys the sharp, relentless progression of time, carving its way through the speaker's life and marking the passage from childhood to adulthood. The sundial, built by the speaker's father, also connects the idea of time with family, tradition, and the continuity of generations, suggesting that the experience of waiting and the passage of time are deeply intertwined with our personal histories and relationships.

"Waiting Room" is a poignant exploration of the ways in which waiting permeates our lives, from the mundane to the profound. Pastan’s use of imagery and metaphor illuminates the complex emotions that accompany waiting—frustration, anxiety, anticipation, and reflection—while also highlighting the inescapable presence of time as both a guide and a reminder of life's impermanence. The poem invites readers to consider their own experiences of waiting, recognizing it as a fundamental aspect of the human condition, one that shapes our understanding of time, life, and ultimately, death.

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