Poem: Reflections in the Window

There’s a great many things changing
As the weather grows colder
In the PNW it grows wetter
With great stretching grey days
That seem to reach towards forever

Poem: Existential Conversations: I. Isolation

“We’re alone,” she says.

“No we’re not,” I responded to her.
I gesture at the café full of people,
she looks down into her empty cup.

“No, I mean we are alone.”

“I’m here with you.”
I smile and reach for her hand,
withdrawing it she looks out the window.

Poem: Reminiscing on Coffee Shops

I miss cafes and coffee shops
With a drink that tastes burnt
Having idled to long on burners
Neglected by a bored barista
Who’s ignored my advances
Every time I’ve come in here

Poem: Filling Up the Essence of Emptiness

The coffee cup is empty
as I am, I can refill
the cup
I’m less sure about myself

As someone wise once told me,
nothingness can be useful;
in the cup
nothingness gives it purpose

Poem: Open Mic Night Connection

She looks out at the darkness
Extending past the spotlights
Beyond she can hear chattering
Clinking cups and shuffling chairs
Impatient throat-clearing waiting
Taking a big step she walks out
Stepping out onto the stage

Poem: Same Coffee as it Ever Was

Truck stop coffee in a styrofoam cup
Idling on a burner late into the evening
Has a caffeinated timeless quality to it
Much like the elderly lady at the register
Who watches wearily the wandering aisles
Of road dusted bodies pouring black coffee
Into white cups that cost a dollar and change
No matter where in the country you are

Poem: The Situation as it Stands

Two packets of sugar sit between us
Coffee gone cold like the conversation
Neither raising what we need to discuss
Each being held back by reservation
This an unfamiliar hesitation
When we loved each other we loved freely

Poem: Coffee in Spring

Coffee in spring is a matter of timing
Early in the morning black
Where smokey tendrils draw wisps
Dancing in the air between us
As we share our dreams
From the night before

Poem: Drip Drying

The rain keeps falling
As I’m sitting here
Drip drying drinking
Drip coffee dreaming
Of what I’ll say
When you sash shay
In from the storm
Shaking your umbrella
The same way you shake

Poem: Coffee Dream

Hot and steamy
Rising form the black depths
The vapor roils and curls
Like the curve of your lip