Poem: Chilli Chat

Hello Reader,

this poem was originally submitted to a competition and, well… did not succeed. But it, in all honesty, represents a lovely, peculiar encounter I experienced, and I am happy to share it here.

Chili Chat

Coffee place, the door was open,
people chatting, no drinks,
enclosing around smartphones and floor plans
I guess a community session, or work friends

I ask a lady in the kitchen, "What do I do?"
I am told to sit down, no menu to read
I ask for tea, the woman goes, "Normal?"
"No, mint," is what I reply

Everyone left, the woman asks my name
She shifts Marketa into Margaret
and gives me her name back
She offers me a snack she made

I eat, and she starts apologising as she sees my red face
She forgot to mention it's made of green chilli
She brings the tea and a banana for free
to calm my burning throat

I want to politely refuse,
but my suffering mouth rejects the words
and accepts the banana to save itself
Brain notes the trick for future spicy encounters

The lady starts cleaning everything, turns off the lights
"When do you close?" I ask
"Oh, it was hours ago."
I am left surprised

This woman sat me down, made me tea,
burned my tongue and nursed me to calm it down
She chose to spend time with me, even though,
she should have been home from work by now

Thank you for reading,

Markéta N.