Waiting

Waiting
In the hospital hallway an oil painting
Of a plant and pears
Scattered on a patio table

Still life in muted sunlight

Sipping tall chai tea
Inner courtyard outside
Surrounded by windows
Finch eating under my feet

Reading poems written down on rocks and trees
By old Chinese legends
Telling tales of cold mountain trails
And waiting with the moon

A man brings water in a pitcher
Pours upon the potted plants
It seeps through the dark soil
And leaks out upon the tiles

I get up to go back
The door opens automatically in front of me
Before I can reach the handle
Caught off guard again
Inside all seems foreign

On the monitor screen
Mountains and valleys form endlessly
Everflowing in peaceful succession
Waiting for their stories to be written