The Barista
written by: Thomas Park
@mystified131
Coffee is a fuel
To fill many tanks
Levers force hot water
Through compressed discs of powder
No Folgers crystals, but beans
Imported from Africa, Asia
Roasted to slightly bitter perfection
Lines form
Bursts of caffeinated chatter
Time served out in teaspoons and porcelain cups
The day’s study topics
For the student barista
Reduced reassuringly yet brutally
To simple cause and effect
Recipe
Arithmetic
The morning rush of suits and students
Later brought blinking housewives with kids
Wiping sleep from their eyes
The sun peaked behind shades
The poor people from the halfway house
Shuffled in, heads nodding over coffee cups
Strained beans counteracting meds
Or speeding their effect
Coffee the one med, the permissable drug
Ordinary luxury
Life pressed tight into moments
Eyes propped open,
Only later to nod in counter-reaction
A big poetic inspiration is Philip Levine with his works that pay tribute to hard-working people. Thomas would like to follow in Mr. Levine's footsteps.
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