Fred Aiken Writing

Tag: latte

April 10, 2024

find another cup

rancid milk stains that won’t come out of my apron
no matter how much i wash them,
dried and crusty syrup splotches in my hair and down my arms,
and the whir of keyboards typing as college kids
type away their next great american tweet on their laptops
using the free wifi and refills,
though i’m not sure if anyone paid the electric bill

February 23, 2024

the coffee bean that grew up without oxygen

the latte i made for myself tastes weird,
and i can’t quite diagnose why,
though maybe it’s because i’ve grown tired of all the anaerobic naturals
coming out, and all i want is a bold, washed coffee,
or at least a pulped natural,
but none of this double fermented crap that’s kept in oxygen-deprived
barrels for 72hrs and told that its mother plant doesn’t love it anymore