Coffee Bean Philosophy, Too by Frank S. Palmisano
published in Volume 6, Issue 2 on June 1st, 1999

I listen to ambition resonate

through the hallowed halls of

trendy bookstore coffee shops,

where its source, confined behind

a fortified counter, makes game

of the presidential scandal erupting

in Washington.

The probationary arrangement,

calls forth an amusing discourse -

coffee flavors, cakes and pies

with misleading titles, serves the

imagination more than the palate.

They converse on facts, and

create them when necessary

And each new patron symbolizes

inconvenience, a disfigured

gremlin that interrupts their

microcosmic world.

When he asks for service, they grope

with facial contortions, and language

distortions they serve up the flavor

of the day, insisting that the taste is

unique. "Mud flavored with a hint

of cedar wood," I think.

Their valediction is ingratitude.

Their comments - pitiless.

A premeditated retort emerges

through their stale teeth, stained

with beaned delight,

from a land where

indigent farmers scour

the crops for survival,

suspending their

judgment in patience.

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