Best Americano Poems
mellow just chilling
sitting back
listening to
coffeehouse tunes
sipping a tall americano
at a table for one
set by the window
in the far corner
winding down
doodling pen in hand
jotting rough lines
of a poem on a napkin
pulling it together
precious me time
hiding out where
i can lose myself
and not be found
Published in my photo/poetry book ~TABLE FOR ONE~ 2019
AP: Honorable Mention 2020
--- Matamoros, Café Los Panchos
mid-1990's
The old panaderia (café y pan de dulce)
on dusty Calle Guerrero between Once y Diez
is noisy and hot.
Sipping their best café con leche
while eating my barra de pan
con rico coco tostado, I,
Americano viejo, watch Martin,
youthful mesero.
He passes among the tables.
Through the kitchen entrance,
I see another muchacho;
he is washing stacks of dishes.
The heat of this first day of May
radiates from grey cinder blocks,
reflects off the speckled tile floor,
soaks my guayabera-clad sides.
Martin, smiling, brings la cuenta.
He asks: "Hay algo mas
que podamos ofrecer?"*
[*hay algo mas que podamos
ofrecer" = is there anything else
we can offer]
"Americano"
filter-dripped
watered down
weak coffee
artificial
the mood
steaming diluted
swings lower, unfilling;
the wanting
lusciously dark
hot to the tongue
more rapid
complex in richness
animated
scalding and sharp
Expresso
piercing arrow
shoots straight to the heart.
Candide Diderot. ‘25
I’m not your average ghetto schmo,
I’m better than that
Much sharper than those dull D.C. politicos,
me just stating a fact
Another urban legend tidbit,
impo info you should know
Got laid back suburban wit,
I'm ghetto good to go
How do you talk to this Judeo-Africano
in Latin Esperanto?
Ask any of my Hispanic homies,
and head click how I flow
Partnering up with my Asian crew,
they like things going karma kismet
This is what no border brothers do,
from northern Inuit to southern Aztec,
Maybe you still think I’m not legit,
obviously you really don’t know
I got cool hip urban wit,
Me always ghetto good to go
Island ladies and Caucasian cuties,
they touch my heart on the down low
African queens and princess Aborigines,
give me love, not too fast or too slow
Arabic laughter and Jewish smiles,
my twin Pole dwellers are so mellow
Me be a singing cosmopolitan child,
Mr. Harmony be my road good fellow
Did I leave any of my global friends on omit,
holla back, yo ... let this adopted Native Americano know
This soul brotha always gotta come correct,
stay humble ghetto good to go
I wish to purchase a coffee I said
confidently and with a grin
what kind of coffee would one like
said she smiling ah but then
my mind ground to a stop
not expecting an education
a simple request for a beverage
turned into an interrogation
we have mocha cappuccino
americano skinny and full fat
we provide these with chocolate
and there's sprinkles and all that
you can get one filled with
marshmallows if you'd so please
or simple have it black
and of course... we do tea's
I hope she didn't find me rude
that I upped and walked away
and bought a can of Fanta
in a shop not far away
- First Cup
Brew, Plunge, Percolate,
Morning ritual observed...
Elixir of life.
- Single-Shot
Caf, Half-Caf, De-Caf,
Espresso, mocha, latte...
Steamed milk, not too hot.
- Americano
Tall, Grande, Venti,
Served up with whipped cream on top...
Large drip coffee, please.
- Last Drop
Naked Baristas,
Delight drive-thru customers...
Don't forget to tip.
.....Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter
faint
sinew
Buoyant
Crema
Nutty
So
Sugared
Dark
Tart
Bean
Sup
Firey
Purr-
mm.
sip.
Sup.
Coffee Caramel Macchiato
Cubano Americano grains -sup
A earth in my mug ; -sip
Voyage over Nations -sup
Live, no fed sorrow -sip
Prickling mug.... -sup
Comfort blazing
In tip of my
soul
as I gain what they grow
This is me
A guitar with no strings
A glass half empty
A bad bean
The blackest sheep
I am in pain
Inside I howl like a grieving mother
Like im decapitated and now my limbs are off.
I am in pain just like that
But why cant I ever be felt?
Its terrible
Spilling what is bottled up inside
Vulnerable is sad
Cry is disgusting
Because no one will ever be ready for the truth
So you get ostracized for being weak
Excluded by people that mattered to you
Then the big question is... Why?
But they say its all in your head
And the more you demand, beg for it...
It just doesnt work that way.
Reality hits you hard when you least expect it.
But whats striking is I never expect anything.
I love, give, trust, make everyone happy.
And at my downest, nothing was repelled.
The sun isnt shining, and I hope it rains.
Steady stares to nothing have come often.
I am now familiar with my breathing patterns
I can now distinguish the difference between americano and brewed just by its smell.
I am evolving.
Now sober and mostly alone.
A little silent but more resilient.
I dont want to feel but not be numb
I dont want to hear the talking but I despise the silence.
I want to hide but Im begging to be found.
I am vulnerable but I’m safe to touch.
I am real...
but why no one can ever really see me as much?
Behind the barricade of books and papers,
In the earthy rise of espresso grinding,
Misty jets and the steaming milk,
Lavish scents and aromas black and silk;
Until the senses swim in their filters,
Percolated with velveteen sound and vision,
The caffeine palpitates from sip to vein,
Condensation accrues on the stencilled pane.
Across the babble and bubble of prose
Quoted and blown like froth from the cups,
Tinkling silverware, china rapping,
Rose red nails upon cedar-wood, tapping.
When the smile breaks from a private jest,
Or something her cellphone lover said,
Like the sun coming out in a rain-forest mist
Lips of a goddess that beg to be kissed;
I feel like a trespasser, a casual voyeur,
Yet my gaze cannot leave her Brazillian eyes,
Americano heat flares in my heart suddenly,
And I wish, how I wish, she were smiling for me.
i wanna dance the mambo,the cubin cuba mambo,
i wanna dance the cha cha,hip movements with the cha cha!
or maybe try the salsa, sensual is the salsa.
i wanna dance the samba,the fun brazilian samba,
or maybe the lambada,brazilian hot lambada!
argentinian tango,intense erotic tango,
or maybe the flamenco ,passionate spain flamenco,
may even try the polka,high energy in polka,
the czech bohemian polka
i wanna go and party,good time dancing the rumba,
latino americano,cubano,africano.
i wanna do the hip hop,hip hop hip hop don't stop
dance reigns in the ball room,
i will dance the Ball Room,under and above
with you i dance the Ballroom ,classic dance of love.....
are you ready partner?
-------charma
A tribute to the amphetamine of day
Caffeine in all its glorious forms
It’s legal it’s potent
Nobody hounds you
Scrutinizing your intake
Be it social or on your own time
Beyond espresso and the americano
My ultimate favorite being
Chocolate covered coffee beans
I can’t get enough
I love the jolt they give
Throughout the day
In addition to boosting energy
And stimulating metabolism
Caffeine reigns as a top effective pain killer
And that’s the story I’m sticking to
Published in my 24-page photo/anthology ~CAFFEINE INFUSION~ 2020
AP: 1st place 2021, Honorable Mention 2026, Honorable Mention 2025, Honorable Mention 2021
I
order
some coffee –
Americano –
wait with anticipation.
Superheated steam scalds the essence from the beans,
then rising from the cup, that rich fresh-brewed aroma.
I
savour
the vapours –
pure Arabica -
then notice in the saucer
something which I did not order : a biscuit,
yes, cellophane-wrapped an unsolicited biscuit,
the ubiquitous and unsolicited caramelised biscuit !
I
wonder
what’s it worth,
my unsolicited biscuit ?
I’ll send it back and get a refund !
A stammer has been mine all my days
in recent months therapy again did take
but fear ruled through many a situation
what's to do? zero as it couldn't even shake
Many branches of Costa coffee shops
but always busy queued up made me fear
my tongue would block not able to speak
this my thoughts filled my mind like a spear
I wanted so much this to overcome
just to ask for a small Americano that's all
surely now having had therapy so many years
try to believe I can do this climb this wall
An incentive too, get a Costa card
collect points every time I do buy
so I had a plan, to get my goal
nothing to lose, you're not going to die
So the week of the attack arrived
I set to do three Costa in that week
this I did on different days by bus
asked for a small Americano I did speak
Victory had been truly achieved
confidence was gained felt so assured
the Costa coffee I had earned to drink
enjoy it so much better having endured
Señor Políticamente Incorrecto
(Somewhere in Acapulco, Guerrero ...)
Americano pérdida líder,
no seas un mal perdedor
Traducción de cheers de ébano
Ebony cheers translation:
American loss leader,
don’t be a sore loser
Señor Políticamente Incorrecto,
these Español words
everybody intuitively do know
Adiós sentimientos
Goodbye feelings,
by way of Méjico
Your wall of power
is hard cackle crumbling
That tall Ivory tower
is Humpty Dumpty tumbling
No podrías heredar el viento
You couldn’t inherit the win fraudulento
Señor Políticamente Incorrecto,
which way
does el Putin wind electoral blow?
The smell of defeat stinks so
Not conceding
makes you an Americano feo
Pretty [ugly]
is the beauty of being an idol
Crooked wrinkles of corruption
are ballot showing
Fear of adulation rejection
is mo’ scowl growing
Be czar dream diminishing
Picture dark recall advice, amigo pálido
[Pale friend]
remember to recount
your money loss power desvanecimiento
Dictatorial scheme [vanishing]
Señor Políticamente Incorrecto!
Hope alz ain’t abacus well ~ Quédate quieto
[lie still] ... no, don’t lie steal, bandera ondeando compañero
[flag-waving fellow] squawking hollow
Exit time is inaugural soon to follow,
when you receive this inolvidable
[unforgettable] postcard memento
Alluring aroma
Calls us over
Uplifting bean
Pulverised to make us keen
Olfactory sense starts to excite
Firing up with delight
Caffeine or caffeine free
Oh what a pleasure to taste and savour it be
Frothy cappuccino or americano
From which do you choose
Either one
Ecstay exudes