On Waiting

"Are you waiting for the 105 as well, good sir?"
"No."

"Oh? I must ask, then--what are you doing at this bus station, sitting next to me on this bench, map in hand, fare in pocket, if you are not waiting for the 105?"

"I am existing."

"Oh. Of course. But are you sure you are not waiting?"

"No."

"And what of when the bus comes?"

"Perhaps I will take it. Perhaps not."

"What is your destination?"
"I do not know. But wherever it is, I shall exist there, as well, and, perhaps, take a bus then to another place in which I might also exist."

"I have taken this route many times, sir, and I feel I must inform you that the next stop does not have a covered bench. The weather is treacherous and the roads unpaved; you will surely have to wait in the mud. Will you not go home and wait in the comfort of your own home until tomorrow, when the weather is fairer?"

"No; I am no more spent here than there."

"But hold on then, good sir--where are you off to now? The bus will be here soon. If you will not wait at home and do not mind the conditions ahead, then wait here, just a little longer."

"I told you, I am not waiting; I am existing. And neither for this bus alone."

"If you miss this bus, the next bus will not be along for another twelve hours."

"So much waiting."

"That is my point exactly."

"But I am existing, kind friend. It is something I am very good at. I have been doing it all my life, you see, and so twelve hours is but a blink to me. Look, your bus is come. I will call on an old friend of mine. Have dinner and sleep a bit, and by the time I next open my eyes, the bus will be before me as swiftly as if it had chased on the wheels of yours."

"You hardly have time for that, unless you mean to take the twenty-fourth bus that will come from now."

"Each bus is the bus; all time is time. I am nowhere I should not be, or, rather, I am no where I cannot be. Step quickly now, friend, or you will miss your bus and have to wait for the next."

"That is alright--look, it is already gone by as we have been chatting. As you say, another will be along sure enough, and I suppose I will be there to meet it, should I need to. And besides, I've just now remembered I've a dinner to prepare tonight for a very good friend of mine, and though the recipe is in my pocket, my cupboards are empty."

"Shall we go together, then, to fill them?"

"Yes, yes."

"The nearest market is two miles South. Shall we wait for the bus?"

"No, let us walk."

"Much time will pass."

"And as many words will pass between us."

"Ikuzo."

Here we are; there we go.

Dip and sway

toe to toe.