waiting

On Stalling

Posted on by trishathacker

Over the years, Valentine’s Day has become the symbol of textbook romance: the big romantic gestures, satin hearts, red roses and candle-lit dinners. No matter how much I dislike this overrated celebration, there are few good things that come out of it: opportunity, finality and closure.

Valentine’s Day provides the most condusive situation to “go for it”. It’s human nature to fear rejection, and obviously, the only way to avoid rejection is by stalling. When you like someone, you build-up this fantasy world in some grand castle on Cloud-9, where everything is perfect and everyone is happy. We interpret every situation with that person as some sort of sign or step closer to achieving that distorted reality. But the fact is, that world doesn’t exist and the only way to get something close to it (by that I mean a healthy/happy relationship) is to admit your emotions; instead of living in a fantasy and avoiding confrontation. So for if you’re confident that you like someone and enjoy being with them, stop putting it off in hopes for some unachievable fantasy and go for the best option right here and now. So here’s a poem I wrote last night about stalling…

Half a Valentine

That sunny Tuesday afternoon,

She walks towards you between classes.

Behind her back, a soft white bear,

Her hair tied in pigtails, her mesmerized blue eyes behind soda-thick glasses.

 

That windy Thursday evening,

She approaches you at the mall.

In her palms, a small note with her email,

Her short blond hair, her pink tennis dress with a white coverall.

 

That buzzing Friday night,

She throws herself at you in the club,

With inviting words on her lips.

Her loose blond hair, her little black dress rising towards her hips.

 

But, she stops. She turns. She forgets her words.

Because you can’t be her Valentine, not once, not ever.

A Valentine lasts only a day,

But you are hers forever.

-t.t

Happy Valentine’s Day!

 

On Waiting

Posted on by trishathacker

The concept of waiting has always seemed like an unusual paradox to me. In one place, waiting for someone is a kind and romantic gesture, while on the other, waiting when time and life doesn’t is dismissed as passive.

I wrote this while standing in a two hour queue at the airport, inspired by the writing style of Jodi Picoult.

So here goes:

Waiting. We wait to meet people- for autographs from our favourite celebrities, book signings, appointments with clients. We wait for assistance, an appointment with a doctor, lawyer or a broker. We wait to travel- the groggy faces and sleepy eyes in the queues at airports and train stations. We wait to know- the results of a test, the outcome of the Sunday football game, the drama play’s casting list. We wait to reunite, with friends and family we’ve daydreamed to see again. We wait for time to heal our wounds, for memories to fade and the flesh to reappear in the cuts from the losses of our loved ones. We wait to meet someone- for the boy next door to ask us to the dance or for a simple request on an online dating site. We wait for approval – a simple smile and nod as a symbol of reassurance. We wait to forget bad times and we wait to reconcile- for the apology we never expected to come and for friendships to mend again. We wait out storms, snow and rain. We wait for moments, like a pastry chef removing a soufflé from an oven at a precise moment, the 8 seconds for a bull rider to breathe a sigh of relief, the moment we get butterflies in our stomach. We wait for change and to revert changes- for everything to go back to how it was again. We wait for our wishes and wildest dreams to come true. Most of all, we wait to be understood, adored and loved.