AT HILLSIDE COFFEE AND TEA
A woman orders angel-wing tea.
While waiting
she reads the daily horoscope
a newspaper cutout
taped to the counter beside the tip jar.
I ask her what her fortune is for today.
She’s quiet at first, then answers,
paranoia.
I, too, order angel-wing tea.
While waiting
I see a dark figure peer
over her shoulder.
As I watch, he grows taller.
His eyes are quicksand.
In his fist
what looks like a stone
except it is beating.
Clutching the warmth of my cup
I back away slowly
suggest
she choose
tomorrow.
Author’s Bio
Ulrike Narwani’s poetry has been published in literary journals, chapbooks, and anthologies such as Poems from Planet Earth, placed first in Freefall’s contest (2012), and received honorable mention for Vallum (2013). Collecting Silence is her debut volume of poetry (Ronsdale Press, 2017). Her poem Three Wishes is currently traveling on BC Transit. She lives in North Saanich, BC.