Coffee Shop Sessions

Category: poem

  • Disappear If You Must

    Disappear if you must.Hide your sullen facein your handsthat carry the weightof weariness.Don’t botherto wipe your tearsfor they will keep fallingfor one reasonor another.The forest animalsthat greet you dailyoutside your doorwill carry onwithout you;go if you must.The clouds in the sky,bringing rain or shade,will continueto roll on byday after day.And so it will be for…

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  • Sitting, Waiting, Watching

    Like a soft breeze,barely there but seenin the tender dance of tall trees,swaying gently.We never got caught upin the terribly fierce winds—preoccupied with the factthat my body was soaking wetfrom the previous storm.We were sitting, waitingfor the wave of rain to pass.And I was still standing.We were both standing,watching the sway of the trees.

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  • An Ode to Lost Possibilities

    Never will it be us on a distant island,sprawled out across the white sands,thirsty for the hand’s eager reach,while waves crash against the salty beach.Never will it be us sipping drinks in a dive bar,stealing glances, linked arm in arm,swapping kisses in the soft moonlight,staying up all hours of the night.Never will we be lovers…

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  • Fingertip Ballet

    dedicated to A.Walking along the shadows of the night, your voice resonated outside the bar, where I stumbled in to see you on stage. The lights were low, and the focus was upon you. Mesmerized by your passion, everyone in the room was captivated— by the gift, the rawness, the vulnerabilities, so easily exposed. It…

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  • strangers in a café

    Thanks to John Dutton from Spilled Ink VA for putting together poems for National Poetry Month. The theme for this month’s poetry was centered on our home venue Jirani Coffeehouse. We dedicate these poems to the coffeehouse that brings together our love of spoken word and community.

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  • Revolving Door [with audio]

    He says, “you’ve been a great lover, opened up doors for me, been there when I needed you but I’m going to leave you, woman for I know you could do better than me” He picks up his suitcase, then he’s running out the door And that’s the way it is that’s the way it’ll…

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  • Weekly Sessions [with audio]

    Slowly she enters the room and approaches the bed. She’s not feeling too keen on much else than having poetry read. She opens the book, scans the room, and gives you the look to proceed. Your breathless monologues are what she needs. She’s not looking for more, only for your words. Your voice begins to…

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  • Have You Noticed

    after Mary Oliver How certain poems linger in the echoes of yesterday. How certain triggers replay a certain phrase. How hanging onto words engulfs an empty room. How walking through fields begets velvet moonlit nights listening to you. How spinning a record after dropping a needle births a mountain of longing and sorrow. Have you…

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  • Train to Nowhere [with audio]

    The clock ticks in desperation to move us along, to where we belong. Our eyes remain forward, no longer looking back. The man in seat 2B sobs with tears streaming down his face. He’s left his life in his old place. I soak in the faces of passengers around me, stern looks all around. All…

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  • The Disposables [with audio]

    We met there in the bar most nights the same drink the same table conversing over troubles we leaned on each other in those long nights This night I sit and wait at the same table with the same drink you haven’t arrived yet and I linger for hours wondering Nights like this pass Was…

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