The waitress with the orange hair keeps motionin' me to hurry up and leave
I gulp my coffee - burn my mouth - grab up my coat and slippin' out
I smear a streak of mustard down my sleeve
And the guy behind the register takes my bread and shakes his head
And looks at me as if I've blown his mind
Hey, I just come here for some coffee…hope I'm not waistin' anybody's time.
And Judy I'm slowly movin' back to you
And I wish that I could say I'll treat you better than I used to
It's just I'm learnin' lots of things I never knew back then
Judy I'm slowly movin' back again
That blue eyed barracuda smiles and tells me she could she could use some brand new clothes
She grabs my leg with a wink, asks if I want another drink
She's not the campfire girl you might suppose
But she's so busy tellin' me her troubles I don't think she's got time
For any kind of trouble small as mine
Hey, I just come here for nothin'… hope I'm not waistin' anybody's time
I stop here on the corner, but that red faced cop says move along your way
My toes are cold, my nose is numb, I got no feeling in my thumb
I think I just might stop inside that church and maybe pray
But they pass the plate and look at me when it turns out that I ain't got a dime
Hey, I just come in here to talk to GOD… hope I'm not waistin' anybody's time
Praying is the best weapon to beat the devil.... nice poem by Shel Silverstein
A beautiful poem with a message. Love its flow and finishing. Enjoyed.
I see The Hater has been pouring his dislikes indiscriminately over the comments below. I am surprised that someone of such a narrow and jealous character has joined a group of hard-working writers. I enjoyed the story of this poem- I believe and hope the misspelling of wastin' was deliberate... it seemed in tune with the character of the man. Now I shall go and like every comment below just to even the score with The Hater.
A great write but the spelling of waistin' has been overlooked. I love his book, The Giving Tree, one of the best.
The poem is a pleasure to read. The weaknesses and shortcomings of oneself is beautifully drawn in this piece. Great write.
Hey, I just come in here to talk to GOD… hope I'm not waistin' anybody's time...lovely theme.Moving and stunning.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
Three times the word 'waistin' was used, and it should have been 'wastin' instead. I can't believe Shel Silverstein would have misspelled it, so it must have been the person who typed it into Poem Hunter's database. Does anybody out there have a copy of this poem printed in a book and can check if this is really the way Silverstein spelled the word? By the way, I really enjoyed the poem except for the misspelled word. Silverstein is one of my favorite poets.