Please Pour Me a Cup
This is my first poem in more than 15 years .. so flame away .. I have my flame retardant-outfit on just for this special occasion. This poem is about an everyday subject: COFFEE. I drink lots of it. I have a StarBucks card dating back to 2003. Staff at various cafes and coffeehouses know me by name, and I know them by name. This poem pays homage to Sylvia Plath (she's a perfect dinner guest), specifically it's a doppelganger of her poem "MUSHROOM".
Just remember, this poem is about COFFEE - nothing more; do not inject or project political ideas, religious overtones, cultural concepts, subversive undertones and/or social injustices into this poem. I welcome your comments ...
Just remember, this poem is about COFFEE - nothing more; do not inject or project political ideas, religious overtones, cultural concepts, subversive undertones and/or social injustices into this poem. I welcome your comments ...
- COFFEE
(nam lamore, may 2005)
In the night, or
In the light, we
Brew and percolate
The perfect plan.
Without a fight,
We drip into the boardroom,
Taking our seats
With little fanfare.
Our aroma, our bitterness
Entice you long before
You see us. You hoard us,
The Elixir of Life.
Our accomplices never betray us:
Orange juice and toast
Are loyal minions to the end.
Do not dare to separate us.
Eggs and bacon try to outstage us.
We walk in the black alone;
Curiously you cajole us to
Dance with your many lovers:
Sugar, syrup, milk and soy.
We hail from exotic climes.
We are Sumatran, Columbian, Ethiopian.
Can you not feel
The spirits of our homeland?
We carry the memories and
Promises of distant shores.
Whether Indonesia, Hawaii,
Africa or South America,
We cry out for fair-trade.
Once, the Church banished us
As the Devil's drink;
Now, you covet us openly
As currency of the world.
Iced or hot,
We are strong and bold.
But always fresh.
Christened Cappucino, Espresso,
Cafe Latte or Americano,
We answer your calls.
We are roasted,
Darkly, medium or lightly.
And from the shadows,
We keep the hours at bay.
Yet it is unmistakably us:
We linger, we endure.
You eagerly await for us.
We have a hold on you.
This, our masterplan.
another point of view ...
I'm not a fan of coffee - it's tea all the way for me I'm afraid. I like the poem though. Is there a tea version of the poem for the more British blogger? :-)
louise nilon: hmmm, i'll have to adapt it for the british and indian bloggers -- just like when we need to 'americanize' movies for us simpletons.
i forgot to mention: on average, i drink about 10 cups of coffee a day.
CoffeeResearch.org
The average consumption per capita in the United States is around 4.4 Kg. Among coffee drinkers (i.e. not per capita) the average consumption in the United States is 3.1 cups of coffee per day (NCA). Per capita men drink approximately 1.9 cups per day, whereas women drink an average of 1.4 cups of coffee a day (NCA).
Not bad, not bad at all! Although, I am not a coffee drinker. I prefer my beverages to be cold and full of alcohol.
i drink a lot of coffee. my family is italian and thus my sister and i used to have espresso and milk for breakfast when we were wee lassies. nowadays, it's not unheard of for me to have between 4 and six regular coffees per day (and some decaf in the evening sometimes). there's also a lot of evidence that i'm addicted to caffeine (quelle surprise) as if i don't have one in the morning, by 1 in the afternoon, i have a splitting headache. maybe i can quit over the summer. (but probably not)
on a side note, the church banned coffee at one point? scandalous!
truejerseygirl: ah, you prefer the drink of champions! at the bars, i'll marry the two and have an irish coffee! so refreshing.
diadima: you drink decaf, why? that's like riding public transportation when you have your own limo service. oh, caffeine isn't addicted; if it was, then it would be banned or heavily regulated like morphine. isn't that something that vatican city once banned coffee?
"This devil's drink is so good ... we should cheat the devil by baptizing it." ~ Pope Clement VIII, upon being pressured by his counselors to pronounce coffee to be a drink of the devil because of its popularity among Muslims.
I saw that you're an advocate of fair-trade, and I specifically worked that in for you! God's in the detail!
love hurts: thanks! it's the first i've written in more than 15 years, and i often muster up what i know or like. coffee is not for everyone, i'm not sure why .. when i hear people not drinking coffee, it only hear, "i'm still searching for a good cup of coffee."
i think the folks at starbucks are marketing geniuses .. it's pay an arm and a leg for coffee, and they expand their fiefdom to include non-alcoholic drinks, thus gaining new such subjects like yourself and children (who will no doubt become heavy coffee drinkers because they are witnesses to heavy coffee drinking as children).
Delicious poem, Nam!!! I am also a heavy coffee drinker. It is not unheard of for me to have a cup of regular coffee before bed, and still sleep soundly.
jadedmaniac: as much as i try to trick myself otherwise, coffee does affect my sleeping pattern (no surprise here). but, i always forget that it's a bad idea to have coffee at, say, midnight.
coffee provides such a comfort feeling, the smell as it brews, the taste is so bold and unforgettable .. sounds like i have a coffee problem. i wonder if there's a 12-step program for coffee drinkers. but i'm not sure if i would ever be a reformed coffee drinker.
avid coffee drinker who's self-imposed limit of 2 cups a day is only made barely bearable by the size of a venti cup. nice poem, nam! i'm too anally retentive to write a good poem because i am forever editing. i can't even write a comment w/out previewing at least 3 times. so i can appreciate a good poem when i hear one. thanks!
for everyone's trivia file: swedes drink 9 cups of dark arabica coffee a day. i don't think that coffee is an addiction that needs to be "taken care of." it's not like you're gonna hold up a convenience store for cup of coffee! everything in moderation is a good policy.
jadedmaniac: why do i always have to do the sponsoring, lke the time ... oh, never mind, you wouldn't be interested ...
dantheresa: glad you could enjoy it! perhaps i should write about something we all can relate to: AIR. if i get a comment that someone can't relate to AIR, then i think i have a bestseller waiting to write itself.
lester t: i believe the swedes need need that much, heck it's dark half the year! i'm no poet, or at least that's not a self-sticking label. i find poetry is a good remarkable in that it measures a person's fluency in a language, but is also bubblegum reading. i'm sure you could write some revealing poetry.
i'll have to dig a bit, but there are scientists who write poetry that reads more like a math theorem. i remember writing one back in highschool about the quadratic equation - we had just been introduced to the equation that week, and the poem helped to internalize it.
Putting your head in an oven is never fun--- That is why I bought a self cleaning oven.
I do have a coffee question. . . . When drinking coffee from a region recently destroyed by a tsunami are the fleshy overtones real or imaginary? Do I need to use extra hot water to kill all forms of germs caused by rotting flesh? Is it still a vegetarian drink?
You should try to sell you poem to one of the large chains.
I liked your poem but, I feel hindered by your request not to over analyze your poem.
Hey, wow, i like your poem. You made coffee feel like an entity somehow, a force in the world.
I love coffee, but annoyed at Starbucks prices lately.
:)
mquest: thank you for your words of encouragement -- are you sure you're not my highschool english teacher? she said the same thing when i handed in my memories poem assignment. oh, never feel hindered when you're on this blog, there is no budget, no rules. this is a playground for all, even the bullies and the meek manage to play nice here.
hmmm, is it still vegetarian coffee? i believe so, otherwise my vegan friends wouldn't continue ordering their venti-iced-soy-cafe-lattes after the tsunami. and, i do believe the pressurized steam pulverizes everything to make the esspresso.
peri: much thanks! to understand how coffee became an entity, you must be sure to read sylvia plath's 'mushroom' poem (it's a comment at the end of that post).
the price of starbucks is just out of this world; you think starbucks was giving you a solid-gold spood to take with you!
howbizarre: it does serve as my disclaimer! i just don't want people to get the notion that i think deeping about things -- i don't. i figure my life (just like this blog) is like bubblegum, not to be taken serious.
no, that did not come from "forest gump.
i have always wonder, what is the meaning of starbucks logo.
anyway, on the weekend, i am mostly at starbucks with my boyfriend, me drink coffee he drinks tea. he can't drink coffee at starbucks, unless it is an espresso. he is lactose intolerant.
by the time starbucks come up with soy milk... too late, we decided to spend our afternoon at a little cafe, in our favorite bookshop, drinking tea.. earl grey.. jasmine, peppermint.. green tea... very refreshing..
We have 'Teh Tarik' here in malaysia, its a favorite drink, and available almost everywhere. It's a concoction of tea, with condensed milk.
did you manage to taste it nam, during your asia pacific tour ?
jaja: i haven't a clue to the meaning of the starbucks logo -- i think it's suppose to be a bit retro, reaching back to the idealism of hippy era. if you're looking for satanic or occult meanings, i'm sure they're there too. if i find out anything, i'll blog for you!
it's funny about yoru boyfriend and coffee/starbucks. i am mildly lactose intolerant, but the coffee somehow combat that. i prefer to hang out at the little, independent coffee shops .. and will go to starbucks if there's no else to go. at least at starbucks, you get the 'atmosphere' - it's so predictable!
oh i love teh tarik! i first learned out about teh tarik when i was in taiwan. i was at an outdoor, night market and very thirsty. i went to a busy stall and pointed to what people were drinking. i became addicted them that night!
we just call it milk tea here. you don't see it everywhere yet, starbucks and 7-eleven hasn't put it on their menus. you see cafes in the asian communities serving this like mad -- my favorite flavor is a sesame or peanut "flavor" milk tea with some boba; i like them cold or hot - they're so good, i wonder if they have high fat content, you would think!
speak up!
Louise
I'm not a fan of coffee - it's tea all the way for me I'm afraid. I like the poem though. Is there a tea version of the poem for the more British blogger? :-)
Nam LaMore
louise nilon: hmmm, i'll have to adapt it for the british and indian bloggers -- just like when we need to 'americanize' movies for us simpletons.
i forgot to mention: on average, i drink about 10 cups of coffee a day.
CoffeeResearch.org
The average consumption per capita in the United States is around 4.4 Kg. Among coffee drinkers (i.e. not per capita) the average consumption in the United States is 3.1 cups of coffee per day (NCA). Per capita men drink approximately 1.9 cups per day, whereas women drink an average of 1.4 cups of coffee a day (NCA).
True Jersey Girl
Not bad, not bad at all! Although, I am not a coffee drinker. I prefer my beverages to be cold and full of alcohol.
diadima
i drink a lot of coffee. my family is italian and thus my sister and i used to have espresso and milk for breakfast when we were wee lassies. nowadays, it's not unheard of for me to have between 4 and six regular coffees per day (and some decaf in the evening sometimes). there's also a lot of evidence that i'm addicted to caffeine (quelle surprise) as if i don't have one in the morning, by 1 in the afternoon, i have a splitting headache. maybe i can quit over the summer. (but probably not)
on a side note, the church banned coffee at one point? scandalous!
Nam LaMore
truejerseygirl: ah, you prefer the drink of champions! at the bars, i'll marry the two and have an irish coffee! so refreshing.
Nam LaMore
diadima: you drink decaf, why? that's like riding public transportation when you have your own limo service. oh, caffeine isn't addicted; if it was, then it would be banned or heavily regulated like morphine. isn't that something that vatican city once banned coffee?
"This devil's drink is so good ... we should cheat the devil by baptizing it." ~ Pope Clement VIII, upon being pressured by his counselors to pronounce coffee to be a drink of the devil because of its popularity among Muslims.
I saw that you're an advocate of fair-trade, and I specifically worked that in for you! God's in the detail!
Nam LaMore
love hurts: thanks! it's the first i've written in more than 15 years, and i often muster up what i know or like. coffee is not for everyone, i'm not sure why .. when i hear people not drinking coffee, it only hear, "i'm still searching for a good cup of coffee."
i think the folks at starbucks are marketing geniuses .. it's pay an arm and a leg for coffee, and they expand their fiefdom to include non-alcoholic drinks, thus gaining new such subjects like yourself and children (who will no doubt become heavy coffee drinkers because they are witnesses to heavy coffee drinking as children).
Julie
Delicious poem, Nam!!! I am also a heavy coffee drinker. It is not unheard of for me to have a cup of regular coffee before bed, and still sleep soundly.
Nam LaMore
jadedmaniac: as much as i try to trick myself otherwise, coffee does affect my sleeping pattern (no surprise here). but, i always forget that it's a bad idea to have coffee at, say, midnight.
coffee provides such a comfort feeling, the smell as it brews, the taste is so bold and unforgettable .. sounds like i have a coffee problem. i wonder if there's a 12-step program for coffee drinkers. but i'm not sure if i would ever be a reformed coffee drinker.
Lester T.
avid coffee drinker who's self-imposed limit of 2 cups a day is only made barely bearable by the size of a venti cup. nice poem, nam! i'm too anally retentive to write a good poem because i am forever editing. i can't even write a comment w/out previewing at least 3 times. so i can appreciate a good poem when i hear one. thanks!
Lester T.
for everyone's trivia file: swedes drink 9 cups of dark arabica coffee a day. i don't think that coffee is an addiction that needs to be "taken care of." it's not like you're gonna hold up a convenience store for cup of coffee! everything in moderation is a good policy.
Nam LaMore
jadedmaniac: why do i always have to do the sponsoring, lke the time ... oh, never mind, you wouldn't be interested ...
dantheresa: glad you could enjoy it! perhaps i should write about something we all can relate to: AIR. if i get a comment that someone can't relate to AIR, then i think i have a bestseller waiting to write itself.
Nam LaMore
lester t: i believe the swedes need need that much, heck it's dark half the year! i'm no poet, or at least that's not a self-sticking label. i find poetry is a good remarkable in that it measures a person's fluency in a language, but is also bubblegum reading. i'm sure you could write some revealing poetry.
i'll have to dig a bit, but there are scientists who write poetry that reads more like a math theorem. i remember writing one back in highschool about the quadratic equation - we had just been introduced to the equation that week, and the poem helped to internalize it.
Unknown
Putting your head in an oven is never fun--- That is why I bought a self cleaning oven.
I do have a coffee question. . . . When drinking coffee from a region recently destroyed by a tsunami are the fleshy overtones real or imaginary? Do I need to use extra hot water to kill all forms of germs caused by rotting flesh? Is it still a vegetarian drink?
You should try to sell you poem to one of the large chains.
I liked your poem but, I feel hindered by your request not to over analyze your poem.
Hey, wow, i like your poem. You made coffee feel like an entity somehow, a force in the world.
I love coffee, but annoyed at Starbucks prices lately.
:)
Nam LaMore
mquest: thank you for your words of encouragement -- are you sure you're not my highschool english teacher? she said the same thing when i handed in my memories poem assignment. oh, never feel hindered when you're on this blog, there is no budget, no rules. this is a playground for all, even the bullies and the meek manage to play nice here.
hmmm, is it still vegetarian coffee? i believe so, otherwise my vegan friends wouldn't continue ordering their venti-iced-soy-cafe-lattes after the tsunami. and, i do believe the pressurized steam pulverizes everything to make the esspresso.
Nam LaMore
peri: much thanks! to understand how coffee became an entity, you must be sure to read sylvia plath's 'mushroom' poem (it's a comment at the end of that post).
the price of starbucks is just out of this world; you think starbucks was giving you a solid-gold spood to take with you!
Nam LaMore
howbizarre: it does serve as my disclaimer! i just don't want people to get the notion that i think deeping about things -- i don't. i figure my life (just like this blog) is like bubblegum, not to be taken serious.
no, that did not come from "forest gump.
Jaja
i have always wonder, what is the meaning of starbucks logo.
anyway, on the weekend, i am mostly at starbucks with my boyfriend, me drink coffee he drinks tea. he can't drink coffee at starbucks, unless it is an espresso. he is lactose intolerant.
by the time starbucks come up with soy milk... too late, we decided to spend our afternoon at a little cafe, in our favorite bookshop, drinking tea.. earl grey.. jasmine, peppermint.. green tea... very refreshing..
We have 'Teh Tarik' here in malaysia, its a favorite drink, and available almost everywhere. It's a concoction of tea, with condensed milk.
did you manage to taste it nam, during your asia pacific tour ?
Nam LaMore
jaja: i haven't a clue to the meaning of the starbucks logo -- i think it's suppose to be a bit retro, reaching back to the idealism of hippy era. if you're looking for satanic or occult meanings, i'm sure they're there too. if i find out anything, i'll blog for you!
it's funny about yoru boyfriend and coffee/starbucks. i am mildly lactose intolerant, but the coffee somehow combat that. i prefer to hang out at the little, independent coffee shops .. and will go to starbucks if there's no else to go. at least at starbucks, you get the 'atmosphere' - it's so predictable!
oh i love teh tarik! i first learned out about teh tarik when i was in taiwan. i was at an outdoor, night market and very thirsty. i went to a busy stall and pointed to what people were drinking. i became addicted them that night!
we just call it milk tea here. you don't see it everywhere yet, starbucks and 7-eleven hasn't put it on their menus. you see cafes in the asian communities serving this like mad -- my favorite flavor is a sesame or peanut "flavor" milk tea with some boba; i like them cold or hot - they're so good, i wonder if they have high fat content, you would think!
speak up!
previous 10 posts:
- The Decoder Ring: The Truth Is Within
- The Flying IUD and The Standing Diaphragm
- I Am a Vampire Slayer, Part II
- I Am a Vampire Slayer
- If It Says "Keep Out," Do You?
- Five Blogs of Interest
- I Am an Idealist
- No Need to Wait for Halloween
- Pamela Anderson Talks, Who Listens?
- Save the Whales
