Coffee and Critics

Five essays on poetry!

Tone – voice – intent – paradox – politics –

Innocence – character – neurosis – truth –

TRUTH!

Coffee break!

Said a friend last week, ‘They grow coffee beans

Vanilla-flavoured now, you know.’

‘Sure,’ I chuckled, really flip,

‘And almond and orange and hazelnut, too.’

‘That’s right,’ she said stoutly, ‘they do.’

Have I missed some major breakthrough

On the slopes of Colombia?

People like my friend are like critics

Who expound so convincingly

To influence your intrinsic taste,

And who can be plausible enough

To change it.

I had to check about those beans,

I really did:

Coffee beans are infused with extra bouquet

Right after roasting

While they are still warm.

Critics, too, can add only

Preferential piquancy

To the real essence of art.

Lots of people don’t like doctored-up coffee

Or critics.

Cynthia Buell Thomas