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b e mccomb Apr 2018
the day starts with shirley
who comes in just after eight
for her 20oz chai
"what kind of milk?"
"doesn't matter"
punches her own coffee card
tells me about her puppy
kayla is next her hair and
makeup always perfect
about as nice a landlady as
one can have in a town like this

from there it's a constant
stream of people
who i watch out for and
who don't know i'm doing it

janice lives alone and thinks
people are stealing her money
doesn't understand
the tests her doctors want
she can't remember
what she always orders
it's a turkey club sandwich no bacon
on toasted oatmeal regular chips no pickle
a to go box for the leftovers
and some kind of chocolate treat in a bag
because she only eats when
she comes in here

two weeks ago
i accidentally switched
barb's 12oz soy chai
with someone else's
12oz whole milk chai
it wasn't enough dairy
to give her a problem
in fact she didn't seem
to remember it
but i made her another for free

nic stopped for his afternoon coffee
didn't laugh at anything just stared
blankly into space and said he
thought he was getting sick
had too many things to finish
the day before when i was waving
to him from the parking lot
so i took my dog to the
back door of his office and
we barked until he came out
patted us both on the head
and said he felt better

we're all creatures of habit
like mckenna who arrives
like clockwork
between one thirty and two
tuesday through saturday
leans on my bake case while
i count my tips and add random
ingredients to different drinks
in a reckless attempt
to break up the monotony
and he drinks them all
like clockwork
no matter how bad they are

rita doesn't smile since she broke her hip
in fact i haven't seen her since
walt got sick and he and joan
moved upstate to be closer to their son
i worry about something happening to ray
who will take care of rita?
whose laugh used to echo off the walls
and fill the place up
pat's smoking again and it turns out
he has congenital heart failure
gail had a fall, a stroke and
suddenly died

i make the same dumb jokes
only a few people smile at
i sing to myself
and people point it out

karen sits in her motorized wheelchair
ice and snow dripping from the wheels
onto the scratched, muddy floor
and tells me i'm pretty and funny
and have a beautiful voice and
i look at karen, her head tilted to
the side and spit hanging from her
buck teeth and wonder why such a
wonderful funny girl with a heart of gold
had to have the body she's stuck in

why life is ****
and why i'm trying
i swear i'm trying
fighting
for something
i don't know what

why we fight
why we try
to make the world
a better place
when nothing can really change
any of these dismal facts
copyright 4/6/18 b. e. mccomb
nandhitha Nov 2017
A cup of coffee
+
Favourite song
+
Sun rays through
the window
=Heaven!
KA Poetry Oct 2017
It was a beautiful night in a coffee shop
Warm lights soaking the scenery
Ordered myself a cup of English Breakfast Tea
Enjoying Jazz music

Then there was this beautiful lady.

Sitting while reading books
Sunk into her own world
It is indeed a beautiful scenery
It's like my mouth forcing me to say " hai "

I look at her.

A pair of brown eyes
Soft lips
Making a smile towards the book
Manipulating my brains to do crazy things

She drove me crazy with her eyes.

I don't know what's holding me back
Is it because that I'm shy or afraid ?
Can't take my eyes off her
Distortion that happened in my mind

Am I worth to ask what's her name?

Wondering of her name
Is there even a name that fits such beauty ?
I thought tons of names
But none of that pleased me

Drying up my cold heart
Frozen
Warming up my mind
Warmed

Hello, can I have the honor to know your name ?
31/10/2017 | 19.44 | Indonesia | K.***
helena alexis Sep 2017
i bring my notebook
into the coffee shop
writing down my
thoughts for the day

sipping on a frappe
i let my pen lead the way
writing and writing
about anything and everything

sitting in a coffee shop
with various voices
alternative music
all around me

meeting new people
focusing on my thoughts
letting the coffee fill my veins
sitting in a coffee shop as im writing this right now
The strong smell of coffee hit the breeze or the fan
Driving it to my smell, to my nose with a plan
What a blessing, what a gem
To be in a Coffee Shop at 9:30 Am

The sound of the chimes ringing, the glass doors swing in
The coffee lashing tin, the sound of the songs come so thin
How happy the sounds to them
In the Coffee Shop at 9:30 Am

Friends, business men, students, and fancy women
Anyone could be here from hero to villain
Where there's peace and mayhem
In a Coffee Shop at 9:30 Am

The ceramic mugs heat to the touch
With the temperature of the air conditioning and such
The dangiling of my skirt from waist to hem
The feelings I have in the Coffee Shop at 9:30 Am

The final taste of cake with coffee, mixture of frosting and bean
Last gulp of strong Arabica until the mug is clean
Still my favorite place from now and then
Me in a Coffee shop at 9:30 Am
Anonymous Freak Sep 2017
If I had a coffee shop,
I'd call it The Lullaby.
There'd be sleepy yellow light,
And beer mugs full of
Iced tea.

I'd know all of the town
Gossip,
And hug the people who
Need it.
I'd have sandwiches
For rainy days,
And warm pastries
For snowy days,
And Potato salad
For hot days.

If I had a coffee shop,
Old men would sit at the bar,
Sipping their simple coffees,
And whining about the weather,
And the problems
With their cars.
If I had a coffee shop,
Old women would tell me
My cakes are made
The way their mothers used to
Make them,
And I'd serve them tea
In thriftstore
Missmatch teacups.

I'd fill my little Lullaby,
With work by unknown artists,
And strange trinkets I took
A fancy to,
And have books
About old actors,
And books meant to be
Read in a crowd
So you can imagine
The lives around you.

If I owned a coffee shop,
I'd play songs from musicals,
And garnish things
With mint leaves
And strawberries.
I'd have madalines
And my mother's coffee cake,
And her soup too.

If I had a coffee shop,
Maybe I could meet you.
arielle Jul 2017
It's early.

Quietly, I sip my coffee
listening to you talk about
your new favorite songs
and the latest movies

You pause to take a drink.

The sun rays shine
through the café window
onto the spot of your skin
that lacks pigment

Pictures cannot capture
the moment we sat
together in silence,
smiling cheerfully
Jennifer Weiss Mar 2016
I do not need the world,
At all.
The winds and the waves crash,
and the calamity ensues...
and I sometimes
don't even know.
people fall in love,
receive fame, fortune,
accolades and more.
Yet, there's always something missing.
Something still not there,
that wasn't there before.
....
I remember that feeling.
The craving, insatiable emptiness
That can only be filled one way.
And you're always pushing the line further
and there's nothing you won't do for just a day.
.....
It isn't that way anymore.
I have a new sense of dissatisfaction.
My heart can only be mended one Way.
In only one fashion.
Whenever I am not at peace,
I look to the sky
and the Lord reaches back out
to me.
Kishor Ghimire Jan 2016
She
I walked past the coffee shop

And I reached my pocket

Only to find my phone, ringing

It dropped on the ground, and shattered

What followed were painful moments

Of lonely nights and restless fingers

One day a bird showed up, asked me

“Which way the wind blows?” I said,

“It blows where you intend to fly, never stops”

Then, someone woke me up -

I felt disconnected from the ways of life

Was I in a long dream, or awake all the time?

It certainly did not seem either,

I had been mesmerized by the love

Of a lady, magical and distant

Who knew nothing but to stop time

And all that seemed disconnected,

Were in fact doors to her, the one

And such has been my way of life.
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