Monday, November 04, 2013

625 : The Coffee Grinder



Posted from beside a pool in Bali.

The Coffee Grinder

He is old, somewhere over eighty,
Brown, creased and nearly toothless;
Indelible signs of a long life, well lived.
With pride, he showed us his coffee factory,
A wonder of function and innovation.

Filtered through a translator,
He talked of the beans
And their passage through the process.
Of the sorting, the roasting, the sieving and grinding 
That lead to the fine, brown, aromatic powder
Stored in lined, woven bags.
He urged us to smell and we obeyed.

Coffee will never be the same again;
All future cups will be infused with the echo
Of the memories
Of the aroma 
Of the old man
Met in that dark building
In the Balinese jungle.

He also talked,
Through the translator,
Of his love for his wife,
Of his loneliness since she had died.
As we left, I went to shake his hand.
But instead he put his arms around me,
Embraced me warmly
And, with tears in his eyes,
Asked “When will you be coming back”
No translation was necessary.
.
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© J Cosmo Newbery 2013
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15 comments:

  1. Beautiful Cosmo. I love your connection with this man - and the way you have written about it sings. Thank you.

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  2. Great to have you back, Cosmo...you were missed. :)

    Thank you for a beautiful piece.

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    Replies
    1. Not quite back yet - still in Bali. Return Friday to face my own jungle. They say the difference between a garden and a jungle is a fortnight - I will have been away three weeks....

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  3. Such a Beautiful Poem!

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  4. A very poignant narrative of a generous moment. A good read. >KB

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  5. can smell it...

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  6. Oh, now my coffee will never be the same again either. Very touching.

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  7. This is Wonderful! Those last two lines had me nearly in tears.

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  8. something industrialized, becomes personal and alive when we see it through these eyes..
    very nice

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  9. all future cups echoed with the memory of the man...smiles...yes, pretty cool to meet people like this...that are passionate about what they do...they def change the experience for you...

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  10. An anecdote which you have turned into an emotional experience we can all relate to. Lovely.

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  11. You want viagra Boss...I give you massage 2 dollar:)

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    Replies
    1. Only if it comes with a bad holiday haircut.

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    2. lovely write, how blessed to have such a memory 'echo of the man' and the warmth of his passion when enjoying your coffee. thank you for sharing the experience for us to savor in your lovely poem..love the pic

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