Can’t afford an expresso machine of my own
Just the bodum I picked up at the grocery
The day I also found yeast

Yeast!

Rarer than toilet paper

Rarer than a kiss for a single bloke like me
In this freakin’ pandemic

Anyway, the bodum
If you double the usual amount of grounds
I suppose it’s OK
If you got really good beans
Real dark, the Tanzanian is the best
Ground to the perfect chunkiness
But it ain’t nuthin’ like Frank’s americano

I suppose even if I had an expresso machine
It still wouldn’t be nuthin’ like Frank’s

I dunno
The guy’s magic

And a good guy too
We get on
I’ve followed him around for a while
His fourth cafe in five years
“I get bored if I stay in one place too long”
He told me once

So anyways
I hear the cafe’s opened up again
An’ I rush right out there

I see through the glass
Frank’s on today
Sweet!

I also see inside there’s a bit of a queue
And the tables and chairs are all set out
Lined up tickety-boo
Sparse and empty
Like a display in an upscale furniture store

Every time I walk in here
I get the same tingly feeling up my spine
Heat on the back of my neck
That cringe you get
When you feel like you’re in the wrong place

I like Frank’s last cafe better than this one
It has armchairs and a fireplace
All warm and cozy
Like a family room
I’d hang there for hours
Chattin’ up regulars and whoever

This one’s all artsy as fuck
Greys and blacks
Angular and hard
Not the kinda place you go to hang
I almost always take my java togo

I got no reason to hang
People come here to confer with clients
Whine to their colleagues
About their stock market woes
Suit and tie designer shit

“Aesthetics”
Frank told me once
“Looks over comfort”
“Image over presence”

Ass thet icks

Fuck that shit