An Afternoon Poem Poem by RIC BASTASA

it is all coffee without cream
no sugar, you say please, no sugar no cream

it is all about cold bread
nothing electrifying
unlike the softness of the arms of the beloved

it is about the coldness of bread
and the hotness of coffee

less the cream and the sugar
nothing sweet really

you guess it: there is something bitter
not from the water (for why should water be bitter?)
not from the cup (is there such a cup which has a bitter taste?)

guess further: you are wrong.
it is bitter, it is really bitter.

it comes from the heart. Not from the saucer
or the spoon.

it is the heart that is bitter. do not attempt
tasting it.

it can be toxic because it is mine.