Getting Caffeinated

Betsy Joseph

August 2, 2026

On those mornings we meet

your coffee is my tea,

yet they commune so beautifully

as the scent of mocha-flavored beans

rises in harmony with pungent chai spices,

their blending as fortifying as

the conversation that settles in,

as naturally as our bodies relax

in the faux leather chairs

for the next hour or two.

Betsy Joseph lives in Dallas and has poems that have appeared in a number of journals and anthologies. She is the author of two poetry books published by Lamar University Literary Press: Only So Many Autumns (2019) and Relatively Speaking (2022), a collaborative collection with her brother, poet Chip Dameron. In addition, she and her husband, photographer Bruce Jordan, have produced two books, Benches and Lighthouses, which pair her haiku with his black and white photography.