This morning I’ll put sugar in my tea.
I don’t do it often (you know what They
Say about sugar), it’s usually
Just a little milk and a longish steep.
Today though, I feel differently.
Today is a day I might need a bit
Of sweetness to temper the news I’ll get
Which tastes of bitterness, sourness, salt
I put one cube, no, two inside my cup
And stir, clockwise, watching the snow-white
Squares turn to mud-slush, and I sip slowly
As the tannins fade away, and I smile.
Today will be a day of two sugars,
Of listening and breathing and planning.
It will be a day of new things, hard things,
Important things. I’ll go to it, sweetly.
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2017
