Coffee and Change

 

I’ll have a super European sounding large

half-caf, double oat milk

with a raspberry syrup shot – make that two –

white chocolate and raspberry syrup alternately drizzled down the sides,

so I can see them through the clear plastic single-use cup,

with triple foam

and an extra shot of raspberry drizzled on top

spelling out “Amelia Bloomer” – in cursive –

with a raspberry dotting the “I”.

 

And I need it quickly

so I can avoid having to take the Northbound #8 in fifteen minutes

when it gets too crowded.

And I’d like that extra hot

so when I eventually

get to the bottom

of the cup, it’s not too cold

to drink.

 

Maybe the guy over there should do it.

You always get it wrong

and I end up tossing

half of it out because

it’s all syrupy and gross by the time

my lunch break rolls around.

Then I’m wasting my $6.47 again and my day is ruined.

 

Oh, and I’d like to pay it forward;

a small regular

for anyone who comes in and

looks like they can’t afford it.

Can you break a fifty this early in the morning?