Morning Coffee

In this coffee,
clarity…? hard
to tell; maybe
the usual confusion
is just spread more thinly
over my foggy old
nerves. Perhaps
the notion of “clarity”
itself and the various aids
that are recommended
for its enhancement
are all myths, and

I’m stuck with having
to muddle through
regardless.  I know,

though, that the ritual
helps a lot in getting me 
into the mood for the struggle;
we’ve lost so much 
in our cavalier dismissal
of such things and how
they carry us through
the crooked enjambement of 
frenzy and boredom
that is our modern

world; we pour, spoon, pour
milk, sip, adjust; we
make it work, check the color
and the taste closely —
details are missed too often
in our lives and this at least
restores the practice
of care and control
for a moment.