(for Nikki)

We have tea’d in Guangzhou where
a young woman presented a carved box
with the gift of chrysanthemum tea,

where we watched little yellow flowers
bloom in hothot water poured
from a heavy bronze pot.

We have sky-high tea’d in Hong Kong
atop the 103rd floor of the Ritz Carlton,
and today overlooking an Oregon creek

at a sweet tea room with the words “love”
and “joy” in its name. Yummy triangle
sandwiches—of course, cucumber,

of course, deviled egg—along with
a scone and a crumpet for each
of us. And oh, the clotted cream

and lemon curd. All with two pots
of tea that two lovely women kept
filled with hot water as we two

talked and ate and remembered
other teas in many countries, including
this one, our own, in a state

north of our own. We are visitors
met with warmth and kindness.
engaging in the ritual of tea

without the pretension. We sip
welcome poured into a cup that
does not match its saucer, nor

the plate on which we place these
indulgences, a mish-mash like us,
each living soul a precious morsel

in this great melange of humankind.

•••

With thanks to Muna Nash and her staff at
Lovejoy’s Tea Room in Ashland, Oregon, whose
slogan is “the ritual of tea with the pretension.”