coffee shop blues

Coffee shop blues


Coffee shop lounge
On a late night out
Watching people pass each other by
Still in some sort of a slow motion rush
A surreal modern ritual
Incomprehensible yet instinctively followed

Some sit with their computers
Waiting for some one to steal them away
Some intently take their late night dose of caffeine
Addicted more in spirit than taste
Weariness of the endless rat race
Or aimless wastrels wasting away

Laughter of the intoxicated
Empty gazes of the lonely
Rings of cigarette smoke…
Texture the waves of the late night blues tunes
While a tired singer loses a note,
Insomniacs sit and ponder
Sleepwalkers stroll by…
Fighting their way through thick nicotine clouds

Slouching on the ample couch
Stealing a glance now and then
Playing with a memory
Shared with the once familiar stranger…
Sitting across
Hiding a boundless longing
Shrouded now for loyalty’s sake
For the friend who sits between us
The smile on her face we dare not lose
Of the few things still of worth

Like the old time blues
That draws those sleepless souls
Like the coffee that brews
Keeping awake the night’s fools

The ritual continues till it’s time to go home
But only for tonight…
For tomorrow the doors will be open
Many stories like this I’m sure it holds
Of nights and patrons guarding the gloom