Cold coffee and silence

Early morning musings

How quiet and still these early morning hours...

The barely audible tick, tick, tick
of a number less clock the only sound heard
barring that of my own breathing
and the click, click, click of man's best friend
as he approaches across well worn oak flooring
before jumping up to curl against my exposed thigh,
a welcome warmth on this chilly autumn morning.

Coffee, now 30 minutes since fresh, sits cold
in a half empty white China cup,
the rim smeared, lip stained.
It still amazes me that aged 60 plus
I have never mastered the art of "stainless" drinking,
that lip marks and run stains accompany every sip of every cup.
Should I lick the cups' sides after every sip,
would that be frowned upon,
would I catch the eye of the disbelieving
"did he really just do that" coffee drinking folk
if licking the side of a Costa emblazoned cup in public,
probably, but how else to keep a clean cup,
perhaps lip filler to improve suction, who knows.

A creaking floor board from the room above
halts my coffee cup musings,
has my thoughts turning to the day ahead
and the humdrum, the daily beat
that accompanies my Mon - Fri working hours,
5 more years, death or retirement,
hopefully the latter.

Author's Note

Perhaps to be expanded, who knows:)

Reviews

[Ern M. Yoshimoto]

you really capture that feeling of waking up in the morning. the description of the dog clicking its way to your room was very well-written and was a memorable turn. in the second stanza, we enter the consciousness of the persona as she reflects on trivial things, the way tired brains do. the final stanza now has her now focussed on the immediate future, and we are left wondering what happened to her after. it is a well-structured narrative and the lucid descriptions of sounds make it an engaging read.

[Gee]

Thanks Ern, glad you enjoyed the read

[jacob erin-cilberto]

this made me lick my lips in anticipation of fall and those cool days. Your description gets us there, we are right with you with every thought and movement.
I am retired...feels a little like a certain death to me.
I am anxious to return to teaching as soon as I can.
j.

[Gee]

Hi Jacob, thanks for taking the time to drop in, always appreciated

[redzone]

early morning musing with coffee and stained cup... if you licked your cup in public, I would know exactly what you are doing and would be amused at your thinking and solution. A stained cup usually means there is much to be thinking about, a feat that many do not bother to do, as they are too caught up in the daily routine. I find that cold, half-filled cup is a signal for me to get started on my day.

a very relatable poem, Gee. And hopefully there will be a part 2 and 3 and...

[Gee]

Thank you kindly, appreciate you both reading and commenting on this piece.