You are the reflection...

You are the reflection on the pavement of a rainy day,

Mirror of the sky painted briefly by shadows of a bustling world.

Where is my soul but in your image?

Eternity will reveal your beauty glistening in the memory of water.

Dedication in unpublished Master’s thesis, Culture, Corruption, and the Prospects for Change: A Statistical Study (March 2009)

You are the reflection on the pavement of a rainy day...

Coffee

COFFEE

What shall I say of coffee?

He is a brown man

Made from soil,

Pressed into shape,

Fired shiny,

Waxen as a lizard,

Hat white like dried-out shells,

Pulling at reins of a rearing horse,

Hooves sharp as pickaxes

Kicking up bright clouds of lime.

 

Early morning he is a dark and fragrant visitor.

He makes his diffident presence felt—

Memories of fresh bread,

Woody nuts,

Heady camphor.

 

Coffee fragrance is a medicine man

Opening his cabinet

To relieve slumbering burdens,

Heavy luggage hauled around

By traveling wakefulness.

He hands out syrups to sweeten unfulfilled dreams,

Hot poultices to soothe unforgotten nightmares,

Energy drinks to answer a world ceaselessly ringing,

Tonics for the family,

Ointments for friends,

Bandages for the heart.

Originally published in Brew Your Best Year (June 11, 2014), an online publication of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

I love coffee...