WOMAN DRINKING COFFEE

WOMAN DRINKING COFFEE
2/90

She twirls her coffee suspiciously
Smoke does aerobics over her head
A red lipstick mark smiles from the rim of her cup
It was if that cup stole that smile from her face
Her eyebrows collapse in a rigid gaze
She balances her skull lazily in the palm of her hand
The table swaggers lightly under her elbow
Could she get that smile back?
Maybe if she kissed that cup just right
Wrap her hands around its warm contour
Raise it deliberately to her mouth as the fluid pauses, dances on the rim
Enters her
Her cheeks tighten as she wisps away the shimmering steam
If she would just smile
Her eyebrows now hover, tentatively, teasingly, yet her face betrays no confidences
Maybe she is just thinking
Reminded of that forfeited smile
Left on the lip of some blues shop coffee mug
and washed down the drain in a swirl of warm, soapy water