The Institution

Aug 8

I looked up
The meaning of the word
Because
Today, this coffee shop
made me feel alive.

It isn’t marriage
Or church
(Though church people
Do love their coffee) –
But still, it’s
A node of connection.

A place where
We stop being blurred
Minds (for a moment)
And, with our bodies,
Break blueberry danish,
Together.

If the numbers
Were all that mattered –
There would be no
Outlet here, giving me excuse
To work and breathe
Among the living.

To hate the body,
The slow drag of
Earthy feet;
To reject the journey
And sweet shame of being
Incomplete –

Is to be as niggling as Judas;
Trading silver coins,
To force a reality
He had fully imagined.

The Mirror