Standing in Line

I hate it…
standing in line, that is

Queuing up to check in
at Taoyuan airport last night
tested my patience

I confess I jumped the line
The lady at the first class counter
checked me in with a smile
even though I was flying coach

I detest the long lines
at Broadway shows,
train stations and taxi ranks,
airport check-in counters,
TSA airport security,
aircraft boarding by zones,
supermarkets, movie theaters,
rock concerts, sports events,
busy traffic intersections,
doctors’ waiting rooms,
voting booths…

In fact, I actively avoid
anywhere I have to stand in line

Yet I have been standing in line
right here – all my life
at my designated spot
not just me — but everyone else

The people in the line ahead of me
are faceless, unrecognizable
until, every now and then
I see a multi-hued flash
like a firework rocket
blossoming in the night sky
casting flickering panoramas
of the hopes, dreams and achievements
of so many familiar lives

And among those moments
I recognized my father,
my mother, my brother
I saw Maureen, Josephine
Jimmy and Phong Yuan

When my turn comes
I want my life to shine as brightly