I THINK OF YOU WHILE MY COFFEE COOLS
by danny Soberano & Hannah Wu
Darlene Silva Soberano & Hannah Wu / Photo by Hashem McAdam
Before work, I walked into the 7-Eleven
at Federation Square
and bought a latte for a dollar.
I was not in a rush.
What good fortune—
to have enough time
to feel a happiness
that settled
over everywhere.
I sat on some steps,
unzipped my jacket,
and watched the smoke
rise out of my coffee cup.
I didn’t used to drink coffee,
but then
the first thing you ordered
the third time we met
was a cappuccino,
and when it arrived,
I knew even then
that I was changed.
I kept my hands warm
with the cup.
I breathed in the scent.
I blew gently to cool it.
I was thinking,
I’d do anything
for you.
Most mornings I woke
to the memory
of your mouth
on my mouth.
And once, I leaned over to say hello
and brushed my lips over the top
of your right cheekbone—
I have done this many times
and still—somehow—
I was—surprised—
Your face—was softer—
than anyone’s—
The sleep cleared from my eyes.
You were everywhere.
We have walked
the entire length of this city.
Once, when we got lost in the garden,
you told me about your whole life
and I told you about mine.
Naalala mo?
I loved you in this city.
Sweetheart city.
Sweetheart country.
If we ever broke up,
I’d have to leave the country.
Don’t ask me to chill.
I never wanted you to see
a coldness in me.
I wanted to look after you,
and in return,
I just wanted a hand
to lead me through a crowd
of dancing people.
Later at dinner,
we will assess the artwork
on the walls
of the restaurant.
I will look at you
from across the dinner table,
eyes clear, eyes clear.
I really see you
and I want to see more.
I am thinking, oh.
This is my whole life.
I choose you every day
with my entire body.
I would never die for love,
because I live for love.
But, for now, it was still morning,
still cold and slow,
and you were probably still in bed,
dreaming of the sky in Paris.
I checked the weather in your suburb.
I hoped you were warm.
Across the street, I saw a cathedral
that I walked into once when I was 17.
I took the knee pad off the hook and kneeled.
I prayed the prayer for a woman’s grace.
I kept a place for you
long before you came into my life. ■
Danny Soberano’s poems have appeared in Mascara Literary Review, Australian Poetry, and Cordite Poetry Review, among other places. They are currently a poetry editor for Voiceworks Magazine.
Hannah Wu is a writer and musician living in Melbourne. She has written for Voiceworks, Farrago, and upcoming projects include LIMINAL, The Lifted Brow and Cordite. She is currently writing for Island Island, Bus Projects’ gallery writing program, and Seventh Gallery’s emerging writers program.
