I’m not trying to sound poetic but…
The tea always tasted sweeter in late December
A scarf left behind still smells like rain
There’s a shadow on the garden’s wall at dusk
that moves like memory
but never turns to face me
“Shoot, scratch that out”
I think to myself
“I’ll try again…”
But in those cold and desolate winters.
I still think about that fine cup of tea in December.
Not because of the tea, really
but the way it was stirred,
Like even sugar deserved gentleness
I don’t remember what was said.
And maybe that was the point.
The vibe of the room felt in a way silence didn’t mind.
Not loud.
Just there.
Like the steam rising from the mug
Then it v a n i s h e s
before you realize you miss the warmth.
“Gosh, why did I keep on rambling…”
My name is Jericho Urbano and I am a senior at Cristo Rey Jesuit Houston. I have interests in the studies of medicine and philosophy and am mostly an academic rather than creative writer. This poem started off as a philosophical view about the human heart. I felt that it appealed to my interests but upon reflection, it lacked depth and I had to start over. However, I still had a central theme connected to the heart and it was love. Having listened to The María’s throughout the week, I thought of one of their songs, Sienna, which was mourning or having a type of nostalgia for a past love. In this age, yearning is not a trait of modern masculinity. However, in the songs of older artists like Frank Sinatra and Perry Como, there is a tenderness and emotional vulnerability that defies this hardened image often expected of men. With this poem I am suggesting that perhaps us men are not these detached or stoic beings, and that we also possess the capacity to long, feel deeply, and to love just as fully. This poem is just my small attempt to reclaim that view of quiet sensitivity.