Still Life of Starbucks - a Poem

Love over Coffee at the Beach

Still Life of Starbucks

Most people recognize where mermaids
skinny-dip underneath that famous
circular ridge crowned by coffee-
stained footprints (or sometimes
     monofin smears) to the melody
of barista love promises (that often
     bring tears). It’s served anytime
at B degrees, with a star
     and an un-
         determined number
of bucks on the side. A tight
seal holds its stormy contents
and the aroma of home
     within, while the ebony
liquid upsurge laps at craggy
tongue’s shore. Petite enough
to fit in a pocket or
the palm of a hand, but
     take heed. The number three
and a warning the contents
are too hot is largely ignored
by sleepers enchanted
     from the song
of the sirens, seeking only
a morning caffeine fix before
swimming to shore to start
a workday based not in fable,
but in the modern-day world
where they think 

     mermaids
       don’t 

         exist. 

***

The Pleasure Garden - a Poem for Day Thirty of PAD

I skipped day twenty-nine. If I wind up writing something, I will post it later. For now, here is the prompt for day thirty of the PAD Challenge:

For today’s prompt, take the phrase “The (blank),” replace the blank with a word or phrase, make the new phrase the title of your poem, and then, write your poem. Possible titles could include: “The Poets,” “The Good Guys,” “The Bad Guys,” “The Last Thing She Said,” and so on.

Even the Garden Statues Come to Life

The Pleasure Garden

Undetected fairy wings 

     twitch
under my footsteps
and an itty-bitty
cracked crystal ball
     reads
my future,
but I’m too busy
     getting by
to notice.

Mossy dreadlocks
     swing
in the trees above me
while flying ants
     police
the grounds,
     handcuff
me in lotus pose,
hold me captive
for rainbow
shield bugs
     to cleanse
my chakras.

Somewhere
off in the distance,
a brownish-grey
mourning dove
     coos
my name,
begs me
to stay, set
an example,
gather debris,
plant seeds, help
     heal
the thicket,
teach all futures
to love and hold
it in 

     high
esteem.

***