Chink char

me and the Chinese bloke
who owns the coffee-shop
in the one-horse town I work near
get to talkin’
six o’clock before work
every morning
while I wait for his good stuff

he likes to talk about stretching
reckons westerners need to get looser
and I don’t say fuck all to that
probably because I’m too uptight

today
handing over the cup
he brushes his fingers against mine
smiles another kind of smile
and I laugh
take my coffee shaking my head

never occurred
to this big dumb white bloke
that it might not be the coffee
that makes him so keen
on the talkin'