Poems of the Week

Back to the Grind

by Brendan Beary

A California judge says coffee beans
Have toxins known as harmful to our genes,
So Starbucks cups we purchase every morning
Should have a boldface anti-cancer warning.
But now I’m facing, from my morning brew,
A Catch- (or Cappuccino-) 22:
The times when I should pay that warning heed,
I’m frankly not alert enough to read.