COFFEE STAINS
COFFEE STAINS
POEMS ABOUT RECOVERING FROM ABUSE
By Keith J. Castillo
BITTER CUP
you are
the first cup of coffee I drink in the morning,
the scars on the sandalwood frame of my bed
the gap between emptiness and happiness
(you are the bitterness in my mouth after that first sip of unsweetened coffee
the tang that stays long after)
I haven't forgiven you yet
I'm still trying
to learn
what it means to be free
(you are
a terrible memory
a man made myth laced with concrete
wheelies on ice and a self made cage
I could never trust you)
you can't help what you are
like you couldn't help losing
the daughter
you never had
(i rise, i rise, i rise,
a phoenix from the ashes
of crowbars and snow
i rise, i rise, i rise
like an angel
learning to hope.)
GENTLE THINGS
Honey nuts and rose petals
a belief in gentleness
lost to the hardship of childhood
(I still think you're there sometimes.)