COFFEE CUP

susan smith nash

 

a few grounds on the bottom

lipstick smeared “reborn rose”

cream, sugar dissolved in what liquid remains

as though they never existed

 

a photo of you, fallen to the floor, letters

phone calls at night, long debates

words cast onto time on immeasurable waves

and on a learned amnesia so enlisted

 

a guy wearing an apron clears the table

spilled sugar dissolves in my tears

all things are equally ephemeral

but somehow I missed it

 

susan smith nash

may 6, 2001