Saturday, May 19, 2012

Who’s Hoarding the Coffee Filters in This Part of Northern Luzon?



“Your morning cup of coffee may start to taste even better after a major government study found that frequent coffee drinkers have a lower risk of dying from a variety of diseases, compared with people who drink little or no coffee.” –Tara Parker-Pope

frankly, my dear tara,
i give a damn that in
my adopted city
the family’s designated
go-to-the-grocery person has complained
of a shortage of coffee filters
& suggested we start re-using used ones
at which i blanched & turned
coffee-creamer white

for three days now i’ve begun
my mornings with scalding hot tea
un-sugared un-creamed
in keeping with a stray school of vegan thought
that says it’s healthier

the only way i’m taking this tea
is to imagine myself again in
a hongkong noodle place at rush hour
where once i asked for service water
& the harried waiter with nose up in the air
dumped a pitcher of hot water on our table
with some of it almost splashing on
my tourist lap

tea rhymes with mussolini
linguine & eeeeeee
i silently scream like
the figure in munch’s “the scream”
wondering when the supermarket
suppliers will put filters
on the shelves again & i can have
my wake-me-up-before-i-go-go
cup of, now the experts say, longevity

out with this imposed
breakfast of oatmeal with dried fruits
& prunes taken with hot tea


in with aromatic coffee brewed
& sprinkled with cinnamon
paired with sliced bread
that has been thickly
lathered with genuine salted butter

you say that someone’s hoarding ’em filters, 
& you think that they are now part
of the underground market’s prized commodities?

well then, bring out an orphaned sock
& let it do the filtering job


~Babeth Lolarga
May 19, 2012
6:50 a.m.
Photo of grandmother who had just had her afternoon cuppa coffee at Baguio's Hill Station, thus sufficiently fortifying her for another romp with grandchild Butones, by Kimi Fernandez
Source of quote: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/16/coffee-drinkers-may-live-longer/?src=me&ref=general

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