Café Lux

In my world
                        there are no imaginary beings
                        no elves no pixies no goblins
                       
                        nor my long-dead sister
 
there are
                                                    furtive debates fist fights
                                                           
                                                         Freud’s Trinity
 
& as my eyes wander
the man with the wandering eyes
& his hijabi wife
are what I wish to capture
 
in the snares of an ode
in the forests of the night
Like Tyger Tyger, burning bright
 
the vacant look of a teenager
reminds me of
when I was younger
still lean
still mean
still clean and sober
 
the long black
the lady ordered
looks like one I ordered
in another place, another time
in a land down under
when I was somebody else
 
then I suddenly realise
with the clanking & drilling
crushing grinding & blending
how weird it is
that I can’t stand daddy’s noises
not everybody else’s
 
& as I chide myself for this
unforgivable
double negative
I observe that
it’s so true isn’t it
that a short story is structured
while a poem just pours
 
& on second thought
I could have thought
of a much better word
 
& inevitably
all that goes on in my head
doesn’t always make sense
some of it humours
shocks surprises angers
 
& all of that
shows on my face
while I sit in a café
sipping coffee
long turned
cold

 

Sabah Carrim has written two novels, both set in Mauritius where she was born. Her short stories have been shortlisted and published in Bristol Short Story Prize, Not-So-Normal Narrators Contest, AfroYoung Adult Short Story Competition, among others. She is currently an awardee of the W Morgan and Lou Claire Rose Fellowship for an MFA in Creative Writing in the United States.