the corner table

Gary Snyder and Billy Collins
at the corner table
drinking tea,
a unlikely a pair.

The tall, dark-haired, stick-thin, barista frowns
perfunctorily pushes my cappuccino
to the end of the drink counter,
I look into her eyes
and see nothing,
I wonder her story
her life, her loves, her lovers,
I wonder what, if anything
would wipe the frown from her face.

My drink tastes more like the cup it came in
than the coffee it contains,
the news in the New York Times
is not different, or encouraging
the Middle East, War, the economy.

The unlikely pair at the corner table
write something on a napkin,
hand it to the frowning barista as she buses tables,
she reads their words
breaks into laughter and smiles ear-to-ear.

I depart
she is still smiling
and says 'have a great day'
with a twinkle in her eye.