The green organic fairtrade coffee shop
Ran out of green organic almond milk one day
On my green organic college campus.

They asked me if I wanted half-and-half

A new and foreign concept!
At home it’s whole milk or skim; no fancy words
No almond milk, no soy, so fuss
No one’s intolerant to anything in the good old eastern block.

So, Half of what? I asked. Half of what else?

The barista didn’t know for sure
Kind of a mix of milk and cream, she said,
Something in between.

I understand the language of campus coffee now
Turn my nose up at half-and-half like a pro
And tell no one about our

secret

kinship

You see
I am half-and-half
Something in between.

The words I say are half-and-half,
When I talk to old friends who are also half-and-half,
And our whole-milk parents shake their whole-milk heads.

I am kind of a mix, half parents and half teachers,
Half-here and half-there, sometimes,
Half adjusted and half longing.

I wonder if you can ever turn half-and-half into almond milk.

I’m inclined to say no, but what do I know
Maybe half-and-half sublimates into almond milk with time
Or maybe it precipitates into something else
The milk of old countryside walnuts in a weedy backyard,
Or of gray sheep blocking traffic on the expressway.
Perhaps it turns to an extra shot of espresso or a sugar swizzle stick
Or some unlike concoction

all apart

in a drippy little metal jug of its own.

# # #

Ana Gardner works as a teacher and researcher in Massachusetts, where she is also involved with local literacy and access to education efforts. Her poetry and short fiction have recently appeared in journals such as KZine, Blue Lake Review, The Fib Review and others.

Photo: Demi DeHerrera