26 February 2024

Earl Grey Tea

 

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Earl Grey tea is not just a cup of tea,
but, rounded with honey, a rich toddy-
like taste for a break in late afternoon.
 
It lacks only the whisky or bourbon
to be a real toddy, as it flavors
Chinese black tea with Spanish orange oil.
 
Imagine it on your tongue—the caffeine
of tea and the citrus of Bergamot
oranges, a hybrid with tart lemon.
 
It is an elixir of gods, a good
choice for fictional Captain Jean-Luc
Picard of the Star Trek Federation.
 
Picard’s Enterprise is the superman
of starships, ready to rescue oppressed
peoples and to forge new alliances.
 
Sometimes, I dream of this while curled safely
on the sofa, mug of honey-grounded
bergamot tea warming my hands and heart.
 
Other times, the tea is medicinal—
a cure for sore throat, swollen glands, and stuffed
sinuses—a clearing for good sleep, and
 
a balm in the here and now for wounded
spirits when action seems impossible.
Earl Grey tea is not just a cup of tea.


For Sherry's prompt "Not Just  a Cup of Tea" at What's Going On? 


My blog poems are rough drafts.
Please respect my copyright.
© 2024 Susan L. Chast


11 comments:

  1. Sherry Blue Sky2/26/2024 12:32 PM

    I LOVE this, and am going to celebrate this poem by having a cup of Earl Grey myself. Cream of Earl Grey is even better!

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  2. Mary2/27/2024 8:48 AM

    I enjoyed this. All of the vivid descriptions! I find tea very relaxing and calming. I gave up coffee a while back & now am into herbal teas. I have had Earl Grey on occasion and agree with you that it "is not just a cup of tea." It is a tea I can enjoy a cup of but have no desire to buy for some reason.

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  3. Rajani2/28/2024 7:23 AM

    We have tea here, brewed on the stove, adding milk and sugar. But I totally agree, no tea is just a cup... it is how we mark the passing of each day...beginning, mid-morning, afternoon...everything else fits itself around it.

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  4. Sumana Roy2/28/2024 11:43 AM

    I like your tea variety. Artful and delicious. As I am a very much tea person I always say, bless the tea plant. Smiles.

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  5. Kim M. Russell2/28/2024 12:54 PM

    I love a cup of Earl Grey, Susan, weak with no milk or sugar. These lines describe it perfectly:
    ‘Imagine it on your tongue—the caffeine
    of tea and the citrus of Bergamot
    oranges, a hybrid with tart lemon.’

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  6. Sandi2/28/2024 4:20 PM

    "Picard’s Enterprise is the superman
    of starships"

    💛 heartsmile 🖖

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  7. alan17042/29/2024 9:05 AM

    excellent poem - but personally i cant stand Earl Grey Tea !!! You love it and that shows through, it made me smile. Well done

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  8. Eileen T O'Neill .....3/01/2024 7:22 PM

    Susan,
    You are quite right about the goodness found within a cup of Earl Grey tea...calming properties, warming to clasp on a cold morning and a soothing treatment for throat ailments or colds.
    It's a lovely drink to end a meal with, especially for its reliable flavour, wherever in the world...

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  9. Amy Barlow Liberatore/Sharp Little Pencil3/02/2024 11:51 AM

    Susan, you might just make a tea drinker of me yet! Earl Grey is one of my husband's favorites. Your description of the bergamot undertones, I can almost smell the richness. And yes, tea is a healer.

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  10. Dr. Pearl Ketover Prilik (PKP)3/03/2024 12:56 PM

    Ahh just lovely .. I felt as though I was drinking right along with you.

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  11. Susie Clevenger3/04/2024 5:38 PM

    Your poem is so visual. I feel like I was sitting down to a cup of tea with you in a room filled with all those wonderful scents. Beautiful writing.

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