Coffee shop diversions

Coffee shop diversions

There is something about

Following old routines

Seeing the same faces

Seeking comfort

In ritual

Coffee shop banter.

The background noise,

The smell of bacon,

A favourite seat.

A medium Cappuccino

With no need of asking.

But the association of places

With old times and

Wounded memory

May promote avoidance

And reduce options,

Unless new haunts are sought.

A café can be a functional space

Cut from a slab of grease.

It can be designed by committee

From an office in the city

With all the character of a theme pub

The intimacy of an airport lounge.

Finding something new

And interesting

Seems like a quest

Worthy of the time it takes to discover,

As the flat white

Can be coffee with milk

Or a taste as smooth as silk

And with walnut cake on the side

A little soft jazz, tastefully chosen

For the lingering drinker

The poet and thinker

To partake of a sip.

A raspberry sprinkle

Casually brushed from a lip

With a finger-tip,

The individual diner

Who might look out of place

In a restaurant

On a table for two,

Fits right in with a lap top

Taking the place of a companion.

How revealing to know

Of such a place

With a space in the corner

By the window

Next to the book case,

Where nobody can see

What is being written,

How inviting.

I might come along

Recite a poem, sing a song,

No perhaps not,

But if you do frequent such a place

Let me know

As one day soon

I may choose to go.