Out of a coffee-induced burst of inspiration, I offer you the following poem. It’s dedicated to those cards you get at coffee shops where you buy ten cups and get the 11th free. Schlock or genius — you make the call.
Ode to a Coffee Card
By Father Tim
Through the sly smirk of a pierced lip it appears. A challenge offered; a gauntlet thrown.
A lone hole appears. Enthusiasm fades to hopelessness.
An eternity. An insurmountable peak.
From the depths of despair more light appears. A glimmer of hope.
Like a musical crescendo, it rises. Higher and higher toward the pinnacle.
The Card. It gives meaning to life. An aspiration. A reason to go on.
The barista punches; a validation of creeping wholeness.
Doggedness prevails. The climactic moment bursts forth. Free coffee flows!
And then a return to emptiness. Blank card, blank slate, blank soul.
