So, it seems I have come full circle -- right back to T. S. Eliot. It seems I can't drink a cup of coffee or tea without thinking about his poem, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock". Go read it if you haven't yet =). Well, now since I've gotten on the subject of literature and tea/coffee, there are two writers who I truly believe lend themselves to tea and coffee respectively: Basho, a Japanese poet of the 17th century, and Rumi, a Turkish/Persian poet of the 13th century. Warning: once you start reading these poets you might fall in love. Here is a poem from each to get you hooked:
A monk sips morning tea
it's quiet,
the chrysanthemum's flowering.
-- Basho
I am your moon and your moonlight too
I am your flower garden and your water too
I have come all this way, eager for you
Without shoes or shawl
I want you to laugh
To kill all your worries
To love you
To nourish you.
-- Rumi
If you can't tell from the poetry itself, Basho was inspired by somewhat Daoist beliefs, and Rumi is nothing less than a Sufi mystic...but you will need to look up those religions for yourself. Explaining Daoism and Sufism is a little beyond the scope of this blog; however, I do encourage you to learn more about them if you decide to read the poetry.
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