alone, and fine.

every time i visit a cafe
i find myself a corner
in the center
of all attention.

it’s a hard place to claim.

i dress the chair
with my borrowed jacket
and proceed
to secrete away my bodily fluids.

then i chat up the barista
and get my cup
hoping she’d give me free refill
next time and
all the times after that.
it rarely happens
but i do what a man can do.

i find my old jacket
waiting for me
without complaining
that i didn’t get her a cup.

i like that.

and then it’s church time.
that’s how the life
goes by.

alone, in the center
of all attention.