Writers Corner

The familiar strangers smile at me
As I glide into the coffee shop,
Brave face on,
“Good morning!” I say with cheer.
Bill with his Patriots hat
and small black coffee,
Danielle with her funky earrings made of yarn,
Both blissfully unaware of the number of times I was jolted awake by tiny voices.

I envy them and their lightness,
As thoughts turn over in my mind
About the day ahead of me and the possibility of another sleepless night.

But then again, I entered the coffee shop
Appearing light as a feather, nodding a full hearted hello to my familiar strangers,
and their brightness lifts my spirits.

I wonder what is weighing on them,
On Bill with the hat
and Danielle with the earrings,
And hope that my hello has shouldered
even a small part
Of whatever burdens they are carrying.

I wrap my cold hands around the warm coffee,
take a breath,
walk out of the coffee shop
and into a new day.

Hull Sunsets

Red and Blue

Streak the twilight sky

With electric pink effusion

Filling my heart

With this beauty

That puts the town to bed

And welcomes the blanket of night

The cat sat on the kitchen chair
The mouse looked at the cheese
She didn’t want to die today
But cheese is such a tease

Her longing for fulfillment grew
And drove her almost mad
But satisfying it she knew
Could end up very bad

The cat pretended not to care
But licked his furry chops
He’ll give the mouse a nasty scare
He’ll scare her ‘til she stops

But she is not a common mouse
She’s not your average flake
She rules the roost around her house
And that’s the cat’s mistake

                  Ocean Donuts

I work at Ocean Donuts.
I walk to work, it takes ten minutes.
I have to be there very early.
As I get close I like to smell the ocean
and the doughnuts together.
Andy lets me in the back.
He has gray hair in one long braid,
and when he smiles, you can see his gold tooth.

I get right to work.
I make the coffee and turn the tea water to On.
I set up the self serve: cups, three sizes, lids, and stirrers.
I fill the napkins and the sugars: the blue and the pink.
Then I carry out the trays of doughnuts Andy just made
and fill the shelves with the right kinds.
They all smell good.
I like to sweep the floor once over,
even if the girls did it last night.
I check the tables are clean, too, just in case.

I always finish before 5:OO,
then I can pick one doughnut, any kind,
usually custard-filled,
and sit with my coffee, extra cream, no sugar,
outside on the back step for a break.
I watch the ocean and think of Columbus
and feel big and little at the same time.
Any minute my regulars will come through the tinkling door,
all those morning faces,
I know them all.
I sip my last sip of coffee and think:
this is my life, ocean and doughnuts,
and I want to hug the ocean for being so big
and the way I do it
is to take another bite of my custard-filled.