june 10 - what matters

Today's prompt is to write about what matters.
For me, thighman82, what matters is friendship, love and coffee.
please enjoy the following two pieces over a cup of joe and in the company
of someone whom you appreciate dearly.

PERCOLATION

Italian coffee with an Italian friend
Beans instantly ground
to jangle around
with anise and cardamom
bubbling atop your stove
percolator overlooking the view from six stories up,
welcoming all of north Brooklyn to engage in your aroma

a hot yellow mess,
fried egg to accompany
sausage made at family gatherings
where old world knowledge is celebrated
and
encapsulated in a sweaty process
known as meat grinding

pine nuts in a cast iron skillet,
even burnt things in your kitchen taste so delightful

a small glass of grapefruit juice
vitamins, chlorophyll, pieces of atmosphere
that aimlessly float up to this palace,
this small cabin in the sky
I am home whenever I visit you here
Whenever you share with me your coffee
Whenever we are engaged in the morning together


FRENCH PRESS

I miss your coffee
So full bodied and rich in my mouth
The product of special rituals
performed by elegant hands
in illuminated hours
when the day has already settled
when the challenge to rise is allayed

At night, while our bodies sink
into a mutual agreement of rest
The last words to leave our lips
before the soft
voluminous clouds of slumber
scoop us up,
are usually

I cant wait for coffee tomorrow

We sleep to wake
And wake to begin something new
all over again
Everyday

You are like a partner but
actually a co-conspirator
Plotting to intercede in the chaos of worldly affairs
With a reason to sit and gather
Awareness

Your coffee is why I love you
eager to share this ritual with you
whenever I can
a bragged about fetish
that I practice on my own,
although apt at executing this event
successfully by myself
The thought of you in your kitchen,
assembling the instruments
Grinding the beans,
Pushing the filter
And
Setting the cup to your lips
I am awake in the stillness
Stirred only by the spoon
You use to dispel
The monochromatic moment
Of the potion reaching consumption