The bell rings as I open the door
The waiter waves me down to sit somewhere new
A heavy blue mug arrives,
Hot and rich in deep roasted scents that drift into the air
I melt into the warmth
The rain outside pours as I enjoy my morning delight,
content not to think at all
Across the room, a phone rings
The sudden pitch brings stress into the air
My thoughts begin to scatter from the peaceful cloud
The roasted small that gave me comfort starts to thin
The coffee is now cold and feels bittersweet
The spell has been broken
It is now just me again beneath the rain
I was inspired to write my poem "A Mug, a Moment, a Coffee with Strangers" from my love of coffee. My writing process began in a notebook, jotting down my ideas and crafting what I want my poem to look like before starting. While writing, I made sure to get into the right mindset by playing calming music. The central theme I wanted to explore is the contrast between feeling inner peace and the external disturbance of the peace to show the poem's quick shift. I used lots of imagery to show the cozy feeling and metaphors like “The spell has been broken” to mark the shift. In the structure, the stanzas vary to reflect the flow from being at a relaxed state to the shift back into reality. My primary literary influence was to capture the beauty I find in coffee shops and small moments of everyday life. As the author, I find peace in solitary moments in public, and the poem's goal was to share this feeling.