oh, the most familiar face!
--and the rising
with no fall;

no

exhale

ah
how the chest swells
as at the first waft
of early coffee
demanding I drink.

(has anyone ever sighed and found herself shuddering?)

I grew ill
some day between first sip and now,
and that taste

--yours--

now, as much as remembered bliss,
for fear, has become no more
than imagined sickness

bowel and gut constrict--
I hold myself,
pretend not
as I'm greeted:

"Good morning!"

*please
keep that away from me.