MARY LIN

I liked coffee with vanilla milk                                
I owned a lipstick-stained cup once
tasty, chocolate dripped
rested on the kitchen table
polished porcelain, somewhat cracked; 
just like our hearts 
yet, we enjoyed it
because just 
the warmth of the steam was
e n o u g h 
for me

​

It was enough for you too
I hoped, 
at least
I knew, 

​

we were a perfect cup of coffee once

​

I don't drink coffee anymore
my heart-shaped cup had been 
left in the sink for a while now

​

since the time you told me 
you needed something more
you found something sweeter
c a r a m e l 

you followed your new taste:
 "Caramel Frappuccino with soy milk instead of vanilla milk,
1 pump of simple syrup, and a scoop of fat-free whipped cream 
on top"

served in a new and prettier 
limited-edition holiday cup 
It wasn't cracked at all

​

we were a perfect cup of coffee once

​

and I miss it- more than I should. 

somewhere in the universe
it seemed like you were my favorite coffee
but you were hers 

​

even then,

I still think about you whenever

I walk past your coffee shop

I know the vanilla scent still lingers

somewhere in your heart-shaped cup

probably left unwashed in your sink too