There is no perfume on earth -
that can equal the smell of fresh cut
grass
A June gardenia or morning wisteria
A Cherokee rose or July honeysuckle
rows
There's never been a scent bottled that could equal -
Mothers Tea garden in full summer throttle
No aromatic elixir available could ever-
compete with the 'tickle of the nose' from a -
homegrown tomato
Try to entice this southerner with a fragrance of such monumental -
power that it could pull him away from the lure of magnolia -
flowers
O how I envy the masonry soldier
A permanent sentry at the flower bed entry ...

She left on a winter afternoon,
leaving her cup of chamomile

tea cooling on the kitchen table.
A cough of car exhaust and she

was gone.

She left behind only certain things:

a thin procession of dresses
hung in the bedroom closet,

a strand of costume pearls
curled in an unworn shoe,

a tube of coral lipstick abandoned
on the bureau beside her hairbrush.

Today the crocuses began to bloom.
I can bear the things she left behind,

but the warble of the robin’s song
is the sound of love as it unwinds.

Every morning when I am making tea,
I wish most fervently,
To become an electric KETTLE.

It most certainly won't  matter to me,
I'll accept it most gracefully,
Be I of ceramic or METAL.

For one moment I'm dancing with glee,
The next sobbing most piteously,
These wretched hormones don't SETTLE.

Once I whistled so daintily,
Now I  breathe so monstrously,
No longer a rose PETAL.

I may boil, then boil most furiously,
Then click off automatically,
Before I sting like NETTLE.

Splutter, bubble, gurgling I be,
Then cool and calm..so peacefully ,
There I ..in fine FETTLE!

first you dripped into it then I did
hanging by your neck above a teacup
bitter bitter bitter bitter bitter bitter
foam bubbles and swirls
wrapping you into it
dragging you in
as you drip drip drown
pool of lost memories
years forgotten
longing for what no longer exists
craving the unknown craving the unobtainable
brown leaks from the crack in the cup
your neck crrrrrrrrracks

Someone once told me,
"Find someone who puts the stars in the sky just for you."

"Don't be ridiculous,"I said,
"The stars have existed for billions of years;
Stars are dead, made of chemicals.
They can't even knew that we're here.
They don't know we survive.
They have seen more profound love than ours.

Stars do nothing for us, hell, they don't even shine that bright.
They just twinkle in the distance,
They have nothing to do with us.

How could I find someone
Who can put a gargantuan ball of gas
In a vacuum that we don't even know truly exists?

I would prefer someone who
Is smarter than you, and who knows that all I would really like is a good cup of tea."

“Good afternoon”
Light kisses on the cheek
Walk gracefully to your seat
Cross your legs at the ankles
                    Never the knees!

“May I have a cup of tea, please?”
A porcelain teapot pours
With grace, three quarters full
And, as not to cross the paths of love
                    Milk is always last

A silver spoon in glistening pride
An inverted reflection
Of your well-bred smile
Stir, ever so carefully, from 6 to 12
                       Never ***** the sides!


Take a sip, looking into, never over
The cup. Laugh, smile, and converse
Indulge in a skon (not scone)
With clotted cream and raspberry jam
                         Always parted in two

As you say your farewells, praise yourself
You have made Queen Catherine proud
With your lady-like poise and elegant charm
At afternoon tea

Dragged out of warm sheets
Cold floor reaches out to bare feet
Amble shuffle through routine
Eyes closed, still no need to see
Arms reach up to the morning sky
Bones crack and stiff muscles sigh
Yawn escapes mouth open wide
Fight the urge to flee from the light
Get dressed, comb unruly hair
Put on worn shoes, with time to spare
Consult the mirror, if you dare
A glance at the face you choose to wear
Into the kitchen, find the tea ***
Fill with water, and your mind with thought
Turn on the stove, it’s getting hot
Boiling water, a bubbling lot
Pour into cup, greet bag of tea
Milk and sugar, whatever you please
Lean over the cup, confront the steam
That greets your face like warm hands on a cheek
Inhale deeply, take it in
The mark for your day to begin
Your mind awakens, you spring up within
The spice kisses your eyes to finally open
Wrap the cup in icy hands
Warmth tingles cold fingers like a giddy dance
Bring the cup to lips in a spell bounded trance
Eyes close, lips part, cup tilts back in advance
Liquid ecstasy colors red lips
Like the efflorescent rose when sunlight hits
Like the indelible taste of a lover’s kiss
It graces over teeth and tongue, passing bliss
How it colors the body and colors the mind
Leaving traces of weariness behind
Giving life and hope to this new light
To greet today as a gift in life
Start today with a cup of tea
Make it your own, whether bitter or sweet
I hope it means much to you as it does to me
Greet today with a cup of tea.