Earlier in the morning than I’d like to be awake, during my coffee
run, she hands out paper cups with bursting blue
irises and an enormous smile and then
keys up on her headset enthusiastically, patting down her
apron for a marker.

Her mornings are often filled with a toxic
amount of caffeine oozing between her teeth, staining her
lips the color of the sun rising in the
east as she glides vibrantly golden through a grey sea of
yawning faces, stretching upward and gaping for wake.

Singing song between caramel macchiatos, her
arms move without bones, whipping out
green smoothies for the soccer mom and the yogi that
drive up to her window. We all
ask for her to share her sunshine  so that we might
“Have a wonderful day!” as she warmly wishes every
last empty soul that passes through, yearning to be filled with her energy.