Brewed in the Bitter Cup

By Micaela Olsen

A conversation is a cup of tea
It passes through lips of women as they speak of years-old news, clutch their Bibles,
and mourn their unwrinkled hands
It drips off of tongues into pools of the glistening past to ease the pain inflicted on old bones
It speaks of life’s pleasures and woes on its hot breath to shroud its participants in blankets of contentment
But as these women trade words, their voices echo names of those they put on trial
And punished like Desdemona
To drink up the women’s discourse would be to partake in their sacrament
Those who indulge in the satisfaction of this ritual must drown their remorse in the blistering brew

Author Bio


Micaela Olsen

Micaela Olsen is an undergraduate student at California State University, San Marcos,  where she is currently studying Literature and Writing. In addition to her studies, she also works as an instructional Assistant with the university’s Learning and Tutoring Services. Micaela enjoys reading and writing across all genres and hopes to continue to share more of her observations of the world around her. Her current work tends to explore various aspects of human desire, faults, and the nature of the external world in connection to these things.