Home » Smell The Coffee

Coffee used to be one of my least favourite things. The smell was so off-putting for me that I used to stay away from hotel restaurants, watching my family head off to breakfast while I hid upstairs, away from the acrid stench. Now, after 30 years or so, I love a coffee. I love the smell, the texture of the froth, the smooth, deep, bitter joy of it. I wrote this poem because it illustrates how much people change. It’s really not that hard to change. We do it all the time in small ways. Our opinions, tastes, moods and desires morph over time whether we want them to or not. Changing, it turns out, isn’t difficult at all. What’s tricky is to change in the way that we intend to.

The coffee is brewing
So wake up and smell it
Your story will turn out
The way that you tell it
The longer you sit
The less you can move
Cos it’s easy to change
But so hard to improve

I sit alone
In the hotel
I won’t go down
To greet the smell
Of fresh ground coffee
Down below
I’m hungry but
I will not go
To me that smell
Is nausea
A bitter, charcoal fang
Burnt blood pooled
In cursed pots
The harsh insipid tang
Drives me away
And out of sight
Fresh coffee
Is my kryptonite

Dramatic pause
For thirty years
Of growing up
And drinking beer
Chasing girls
Playing guitars
Getting jobs
And driving cars
Getting married
Kids in tow
On our travels
Off we go
What a ride
I feel so glad
For this
Dramatic pause
I’ve had

I sit with you
In the hotel
We go downstairs
To greet the smell
Of fresh ground coffee
Down below
I take the pot
I let it flow
To me that smell
Is moonlight
A bittersweet caress
The warming touch
Of roving lips
A call to acquiesce
To pull you near
To hold you tight
Fresh coffee
Is my true delight

So easy to change
But so hard to improve
You sit for so long
You forget how to move
Your story will turn out
The way that you tell it
The coffee is brewing
So wake up and smell it


Thanks for the photos, clips and music used in this video…

Photo by Igor Haritanovich: https://www.pexels.com/photo/coffee-beans-1695052/

Video by Kelly: https://www.pexels.com/video/coffee-making-art-by-a-bartender-2909914/

Video by Mixkit -Free Video Assets: https://www.pexels.com/video/a-roasted-coffee-beans-2675509/

Video by Free Videos: https://www.pexels.com/video/filling-a-cup-with-coffee-854055/

Video by BRoll.io: https://www.pexels.com/video/woman-drinking-coffee-and-talking-with-her-boyfriend-852303/

Video by YUL LA: https://www.pexels.com/video/muffin-and-black-coffee-for-breakfast-3378581/

Video by Los Muertos Crew: https://www.pexels.com/video/coffee-dripping-into-a-small-chrome-pot-7487671/

Video by Taryn Elliott: https://www.pexels.com/video/close-up-view-of-black-coffee-in-coffee-press-4786575/

Video by Colors Motion Graphics: https://www.pexels.com/video/digital-art-with-tunnel-effect-11476200/

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/danijel-zambo/friendly-ghost
License code: SKKVRFAE3NUL79WQ

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/kite-flight/near-you
License code: ZWUC03G8FQPBFO6M

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/giulio-fazio/the-enchanted-forest
License code: VEVOEQ0KJPXLSFX6

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