Coffee heaven

Steam and cream
Five spoons of sugar
A smile floats onto my lips
I breathe in the chocolate scent
And know...this is home
This is truth

The cup is elegant
With its Victorian flower patterns
Lilies and roses climbing up the handle
The cream swirls
As my spoon twirls and twirls through it
Like the ballerinas performing on the Met stage
My grandma takes me to see often.

Her cup is blue porcelain
Hand-made
Within its depths of blue flowers
Two slanted eyes peak through
Eyes of laughter and yet bitter tears
Gaze at me as if in question


I close my own eyes and life rushes by
Like trains in a busy subway station
All the people huddling and nudging elbows
Frowns and smiles as the wheels clank on
Against the cold metal tracks
Yet when I open my eyes
I am back safe in this kitchen
No more madness of this world
No more trains
No more darkness.

The coffee's steam fills my mind
Thoughts rush in of a life I wanted
The life I have now
Is it what I expected?
No...it is so much more

God is merciful
For he saw my heart
He brought me back from the depths of sadness
Into the light and warmth of this kitchen
Who would have thought
That this cup of coffee
is all the two of us need
to find home?

My sister

A blossom unfolds its petals
gleaming in the dewy morning.

She sits and observes its intricate design
Wondering about the God who created such beauty

She then looks back to her sister
No we are not blood relations
But we are sisters in Christ

I ve always searched for her you see
In the deadly gloom and silence of my youth
I had no one to turn to
and then I found her.

She thought herself an old woman
when I saw a girl in her 20s.

All clad in black and gray
with a trace of lip gloss
Brown eyes hidden by simple glasses
A brilliant artist lurking in her soul

We laugh and drink herbal tea in our cold kitchen
then minutes later I see that stern look
I grow affraid for her smile is replaced by gloom
There is something in it...some pain that is hiding
A life...a brilliant mind and a loving heart
all appear trapped deep within her...
Like a little girl banging fists against the window
That wont open to the sunlit world-
shut up in the darknened house alone.

She seems lost in some darkness
And I cannot find a way to bring her out
To unlock the window and let her fly free

She brought me closer to the Lord
We pore over the Bible
Faithfully with open hearts
She helped me see the truth
Now perhaps He can help her
I pray daily this may be so.

The bloom unfolds its petals
It glimmers
But wilts away quickly.
I see her wilting away
Lord, keep her safe.