This lockdown coffee cup (poem) Like a porcelain bra upside down, halved, elongated, of Indonesian Royal Doulton fine china, oven, freezer, dish-washer safe, chip resistant – your cracked, glazed handle exposes the grey clay underneath. Cool to touch when

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Name
Sally Denshire
Age
68
Location

Albury NSW 2640
Australia

This lockdown coffee cup (poem)

Like a porcelain bra upside
down, halved, elongated,
of Indonesian Royal Doulton
fine china,
oven, freezer, dish-washer
safe, chip resistant – your
cracked, glazed handle
exposes the grey clay
underneath.

Cool to touch
when empty, your
smooth white body bears
four pears – like pairs
of blue & white plums –
a Jakartan artisan
sips masala chai,
affixes curved handle,
dips each cup into
white glaze then brushes
on the blue.

With my hands cupped
round you
– warm to the touch –
when mum was considered palliative
from a distance,
in Autumn 2020 I drank silverte
– that’s what Eva calls hot water –
then mixed corn flour + a table spoon
of stock inside you
to thicken sautéed
mushrooms.

During Spring 2020,
all six cups could no longer gather for
coffee + eggs on the back deck.
In Jakarta COVID soars,
here, on the Border,
elastic lockdown days
stretch on and on.
I view you from every angle to
try and understand
your provenance; you’re
emptied, made new.