'One more cup of coffee before I go,
to the valley below...'
- Bob Dylan

The poet is a coffee filter,
the world a blend.
I am not the nutrients
nor the soil.
I am not the rain
which seeps into your being
before you awaken.
I am not even the bean.
Those before me have ground you,
have broken you.
I am here
to take your scattered being,
all of it,
and give it freshness,
molding you into a vital,
intoxicating
elixir of life.
One that burns the mouth,
Scolds the flesh,
Stains the teeth,
and enlivens the soul.
I am the poet.