Pretend this is centered: Is Taos Burning?

          “…inspired by the pinon nut native to the Southwest.”

                                 - label on a coffee packet

Inspired

Apparently real pinon is not to be had,
Not anymore; the coffee is lesser now
Its taste inspired by a chemistry lab
Although the packet looks the same

Inspired

Instead of coffee flavored with pinon
The bean is only – inspired – and what is that?
It pretends that a chemical is from
The mountain pines of far New Mexico

Inspired

I want to go away to old Taos today
Where they make the best coffee at Michael’s Café

Storyteller’s Duty (Cinquain)

What is the value of silver and gold?
Is it enough to buy beauty?
What happens when beauty grows old?
Does her story remain untold?
Isn't telling the storyteller’s duty?

O Pen, write it all down before it leaves,
It's rude not to save what the heart receives.

Some become dormant
In who they used to be
Does that make a difference
Since they feel
'No cares enough
To pay attention to me'
Oh yes, they may say they want others
To hear their words
Truth be known
They do not grasp the meaning
They may even consider them absurd
For the most part they say
"I have learned not to let it bother me"
Time to time loneliness
Conforms into a heart of absentee

The sun will rise,
And we will try again.