morning coffee

my yellow water bottle with the bees on it

half full of water  add a packet of sugar

two of instant and shake. fills with bubbles

drain slowly while watching the sun

rise over the beige hills and red train tracks

i learned drinking coffee in the first year of college

instant with almond milk in the mornings after

doing shots until 3am so i could get up for my 10am class

drinking nothing but coffee a couple days a week

until my head felt light and empty like my mug

cups of black coffee in santa cruz without sugar

to a lecture about freud and an uninhibited 

sex life  sleepy fingers draging across the cloth place mat

after school finished it followed me onto the trains

in little instant packets of coffee and raw sugar

colton stole for me from the stanford dining halls

my favorite were the coffees i had

together  with skya before morning shits

kat wanting to try the whipped coffee recipe

black coffee with apricots and flower

pots with bees and laughing guitars in santa cruz

— June 2021, Santa Cruz, CA