No
I don’t expect to meet any interesting strangers at Starbucks
in all the years I’ve dropped by, this has happened
a mere handful of times
and, being fearlessly honest,
who’s going to start up a conversation with a blind guy
who’s decades older than all the other customers

no, I don’t come here for the conversation
I come for the hot chocolate

I put on my overcoat, slip fingers into gloves, pull on a hat
and venture forth into the cold wintry air because
because hot chocolate is my comfort drink of choice

for some it’s coffee
for some whiskey or similar narcotic
never developed a taste for such addictions
but I do have a weakness for a well crafted cup
of whip cream free, cinnamon on top
steaming hot chocolate

which I slowly sip
paying small heed
to the circulating energies around me

of course, being blind does make isolation easier
much simpler to avoid weirdness I can’t see
but the other side of this coin is the inevitable gossip
filtering into my overly sensitive ears

“Really, like you mean he dumped you? Like just like that?”

“My boss is such a jerk. Can you believe he wants me to log my coffee breaks all day long?”

“Well, dear, I know I shouldn’t give advice, given my own history, but do you really think marrying a 52 year old man who lives with his mother is a smart thing to do when you’re only 25?”

“No, Billy, I’m not going to buy you a muffin, a brownie, and a sandwich. You’re only 4 years old, that’s too much. Pick one thing”

“Do you know like I sent out two hundred resumes using Ai and, like, out of all that I only got three responses asking to interview me? One was for customer service at WalMart and the others were for fast food places. I’ve got a college degree, like what good did that do me/“

fortunately, my local Starbucks has become more of a grab and go enterprise
than a place for sit down meetings or studying
leaving me mostly alone to wander through my mind
considering those questions that only a delicious cup of hot chocolate
can answer

what’s for dinner?

tio stib aka uncle steve