World’s Fuel
from a Bean
Espresso short shot
makes Ristretto,
Doppio – a double-shot,
add water –
it’s a Lungo, add more –
Café Americano;
add milk or cream –
Flat White, Cortado
Cappuccino, Macchiato
Café au Lait
and Café Mocha
au chocolat
i like a lemon peel with
my Espresso, not to rub a cup’s rim
but to infuse the citrus in
for a soda pop tint
my taste corrupted
by Capitalism and
Progress
as would say Rousseau
i grew up with Turkish,
as common as instant in Russia
up the block from high-school
used to get a Milk & Sugar
at the Z-deli on eighth
for fifty cents
i’d gotten tipsy off
an Irish Coffee in Dublin
in Miami in my twenties
i discovered Cuban café con leche
the special ingredient –
evaporated milk
most curious, in my thirties –
an iced Charcoal latte, unearthed
at Longfellow’s Coffee while driving
from upstate New York to Jersey Shore
now armed with my Frother
home-made Lattes every day
stovetop, Keurig,
or French press –
i use the press for
Cold Brew in the summer –
make it in the eve and
leave it in the fridge till morning
when my mother
took painting as a hobby
she drew a portrait
of me holding a latte
If you ever need to stay
Awake for two days –
i knew someone from NYFA
who once drank a Red-Eye…
