by N. D. Martin
I arrived at a coffee dispenser
at the same time as some other guy.
I let him go first.
I noticed he had a cup like mine--
metallic and black plastic.
Mine had lost its shimmer
and the black has been fading
like an old concert tee.
It was a freebie from
a distributer
who wanted my business eleven years ago.
My mind fills in the scratched off spaces
of Talley Communications
and an 800 number.
When he finished he looked up at me
and I knew that we were both thinking
your cup is a lot like mine.
N. D. Martin lives in California.
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