When More Coffee Won’t Help

Coffee did not show courage for me
When I had to make a painful call.
Coffee did not create more time for me
When the evening shadows began to fall.
Coffee can only get you so far.
It can’t be firmness. It can’t create art.
It can’t create a deep reservoir
Of wisdom. But it can create the start
Of a friendship. It can be what’s in your cup
While a friend beside you holds your heart
And you dream and laugh and whoop it up
Or perhaps it’s for your morning time apart
From the world. So enjoy the brew and know
The limits of the beloved cup of joe.
Allegra Jordan, 2019

At times we need to reach for poetry, inspiration or intimacy. Instead I eat my feelings – something that which won’t satisfy or, can make the problem worse. This sonnet did not turn out as I thought. And then I remembered what the extraordinary bartender Gary Crunkleton said about alcohol, “It’s a social lubricant. It can help people lighten up and share things that weigh on their hearts.” Moderation is key. Same for coffee, I have found. – Allegra