Coffee or Tea?

It’s interesting how the beverage I prefer

Changes with geography, my choice differs

Depending on whether I am in my native or adopted land

In the United States, you can spot me with a cup of coffee in my hand

I drink black coffee through the work day to keep me alert

Besides 2 to 3 cups of coffee a day are not expected to hurt

I fix myself coffee before in the morning before I’m fully awake

I sip it slowly, in drinking it my time I take

*

As I travel halfway across the world and arrive

At my childhood home in India, my taste buds come alive

Ready to drink masala chai- the milky tea flavored

With ginger and cardamom, the aromatic spices I savor

As much as the actual taste of tea

It activates specific areas of my memory

Coffee loses its charm even though I am deprived of sleep

I just want to let tea leaves in boiling water steep

*

Coffee smells of work and efficiency

While chai brings the essence of home to me

A different phase of my life each beverage represents

To keep my beverage of choice geographically distinct is my intent