Queue

Nothing can beat the annoyance
Of waiting in a queue with simmering impatience
Forming and waiting in an orderly line can be
A reminder of school life and its tyranny-
The tedium of enforced discipline
Where breaking rules was considered a sin
That’s where my thoughts wander to
While squirming in my place, I wait in the queue
The rational part of me reminds me again
Without a line chaos would reign
(Unfortunately I have been witness to the disorder
That ensues when people jostle with each other
To be the first to reach the counter, conditioned as they were
By scarcity, being left out is a primeval fear)
So right from childhood we do learn
To stand in a queue and await our turn
When the line moves quickly, everyone is relieved
The one ahead of you is slow, or so you perceive
When it’s your turn you are quite confident
That your transaction is going to proceed without event
In record time you would sail through
Making the wait easier for the person next in queue
To the person in front, time flies fast during business
To the ones behind, each encounter takes eternity, no less
The trouble is compounded if you are like me
Accompanied by child (ren) full of boundless energy
Keeping them entertained while waiting in queue
Can tax your patience and that of everyone else too
Sometimes having children might permit you
To skip the long line and get ahead in the queue
Usually suggested by kind souls who look at you
With empathy in their eyes, secretly glad to
Get rid of the troublesome children indeed
A small price for letting you take the lead
Enough said about the humble queue
I’ll end with this final thought for you-
That once you get to the end of the line finally
Something better awaits you usually!