Doppio Espresso

My little apartment

I love my studio
Living crowded amongst
First Nation spirits

Tlingit and Haida masks
Look down upon me
While upon desk and end table
Inuit shaman
Carved from hard Arctic stone
Transform to bird and sea lion
Upon my wall Germaine Arnaktauyok
Flies a dogsled to the moon

I live with you
Have never written of you

Dawn is hours away
I load my first Keurig cartridge
Listen to the hiss and spit of
Italian roast
My hand shakes lifting my first cup
The tremors now constant
I fear I have Parkinson’s

I injured my knee
Just walking, something broke
The pain is worse this morning

Perhaps I will limp down to
The first floor cafe, request
Doppio espresso per favore
Raise my cup to you
People of the deer
People of the sea
Who never tasted this ambrosia
Which reached Europe
Upon the backs of camels
Traversing Arabian sands

And I will write
Yes, I will write
Even though I may require
A second doppio

Author's Note

Dedicated to Thomas Case.

Reviews

[Thomas W Case]

There’s a lived-in reverence here—coffee steam rising between ancestors, art, and mortal frailty.
You honor the spirits on your walls by writing through the tremor, cup raised steady as you can manage.

[Michael Sun Bear]

Thanks Thomas. I appreciate your visit not just to the poem but to my home.

[Desert Knave]

I love the descriptions of the studio wall, and I looked up some of the Arnaktauyok art and see why you like it. Excellent write. ~Jim

[Michael Sun Bear]

Thanks Jim. I’m impressed you researched her work. I have a couple prints I will keep permanently. Along with a shaman transformation sculpture, a grease bowl, my very first piece. The rest I am going to auction.

[Chris Shaw]

Dear Michael, your poem is rich in its imagery. Your studio says so much about you with your love of art. As for the coffee, that that been life blood for many a poet. Enjoyed reading you. All the best.

Chris

[Michael Sun Bear]

Thanks Chris, as always.

[red93]

Fabulous Work Michael - that clean hit of caffeine first thing - so many varied and interesting threads in this thoughtful piece. Really Excellent ✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️

[Michael Sun Bear]

Thank you, I rally appreciate your kind words.

[Buddhistboy73]

Sounds like a tribute to the true "American" people......this reads like a mini-western movie....

paying homage to out forefathers..

I like the way you use coffee as a metaphor here....

Nice poem fella....and yeah, we could all use a "doppio espresso" to start the day...

BB73

[Michael Sun Bear]

During the better paying years of my career I collected Frist Nation art: carvings, prints, baskets. Now I am in a tiny apartment way too small for all of it. It’s not that easy to dispose of a collection.

[Emunah June.]

I think this is probably one of the mostly subtly profound pieces you have ever written. There is a little bit of everything -- humor, beauty, grit, joy, sorrow, spirituality. You were able to bring all of these elements together beautifully in such a way that the journey the reader on is both poignant and vivid. You have a knack for simply being an expert at your craft, Michael, and I'll cheers you an espresso shot to that!

[Michael Sun Bear]

Thank you so much Emunah!