I WISH Acrylic and graphite on canvas, 8” x 10”

How could one think of cup-a-joe without thinking of Hillsborough's poet laureate, Mike Troy. Of his poems, this is one of my faves, capturing the places in our town that create our town character...

I WISH

There is a place where poets walk
And talk the talk that poets talk.
It isn’t far or hard to find -
It lives in every heart and mind.

It’s near a little hardwood store
That always has an open door;
And from the door it’s just one hop
To a magic coffee shop.

And while we’re wishing, let’s just say,
Next door we’ll have a French cafe.
Out back, a bookshop on an alley
Completes our local Place Pigalle.

At sidewalk tables, people natter
Of anything that doesn’t matter
In a dusky limelit time
Where dogs don’t bark and poems rhyme.

Feel the pleasing rhyme and rhythm
Of human living that’s filled with them.
Through all seasons, in all weather,
Living is what we do together.

So grab a table, take a cup,
Pull up a chair and fill a dish;
Lift your face- the sun is up,
Close your eyes and say...I WISH.

- Michael Troy

Tags: mug notes, paintings