I didn’t notice
When I put in three teaspoons of sugar
Into my one-third full teacup.
See, I can’t drink my tea hot.
So I take to boiling water,
Only filling up my cup one-third of the way
And steeping the bag
Too long
For the amount of water that it’s in.
Life, really.
Concentrated experiences,
An adrenaline rush we crave nowadays.
We just fill in our lives with sugar-
oversized, over-priced luxuries.
Sweeten it up with fineries,
With jasmine and crumpets,
The propriety we need.
We’ve taken pride in this, too
The idea of looking all
Ready for the queen,
Able to keep a straight face
And talk about the weather
When, really, we’re in
Boiling water.
Pure and simple.
My eyes glazed over.
And then I took a swig of cold,
Cold water.
Poured some in my teacup.
Let it all dilute into
Something I can take
Without scalding myself.
I never could drink tea that way.
Think I’m
Too much of a realist,
Too much of a dreamer
To ever be able to.

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