In a Coffee Shop—Not Studying, Again

I love a good story—that’s why I’m in mental health field. (Really, helping is overrated and idealistic thinking is for the birds. There I said it! ;)) I can’t be on the clock all hours of the day, so I get my fill of gossip in other ways. Including eavesdropping. My neighborhood coffee shop is an excellent place to listen in on other people’s conversations. Oh the things people say in front of you because they think your headset is actually plugged into an electronic device.

Even on a slow night there is plenty of good people watching, but sometimes I am forced to be creative. If I’m not in earshot or my subjects aren’t in a gibber jabber mood then I have to improvise—I have to write their stories for them. In these cases my favorite medium is poetic verse. Here’s what I think Subject #1 is thinking:

establishing.

i haphazardly live in anticipation,
the buzz of that neon sign singing—
authentic coffee house, established 1992.
i pretend we are like the other young couple,
across the room the budding of romance is evident.
they will remember this moment forever
and i won’t.

spoon meets cup and clinks in a surprising way,
not exactly how i imagined the sound of awakening.
the then, the here, the now, all meld into the feeling of nothingness
this moment of clarity is what some would call nirvana.

i regret there will never be a time to confess
when i am alone, doing nothing in particular
in those nothing moments—the tying of shoelaces
i say your name as if you’re never more than a breath away—
as if expelling the air from my lungs could push the memory of you
away from my heart, through my rib cage, and out of my chest forever.
i love you is a thought I often have.

now to meet the eyes of her
her whose eyes rebound like so many potential lovers
those i have never chosen, including you
i half smile as I remind myself of our reality
as soft as you are, we were not made to melt or begin
this is not my year of establishment.

Subject #2 thinks in haikus:

damnit I forgot
to order this with soy milk
i’ll blame the cashier

I decided to dedicate this mix to Subject #1.

1. Honey, Don’t Think—Grant Lee Buffalo
2. Across The Universe—Rufus Wainwright (Beatles cover)
3. Orange Sky—Alexi Murdoch
4. Caring is Creepy—The Shins
5. Wonderwall—Ryan Adams
6. Honey And The Moon—Joseph Arthur
7. Good To Be In Love—Frou Frou
8. Song Beneath the Song—Maria Taylor
9. Strange & Beautiful—Aqualung
10. Can’t Go Back Now—The Weepies