Café Crème

Lyrics

[Intro]
(the hiss of an espresso machine — steam, porcelain placed on marble)
(piano in a slow waltz, upright bass following)

[Verse 1]
The first sip doesn't wake you
It removes the thing
That was putting you to sleep
A double negative of alertness —
Not more awake
Just less asleep
And the less
Arrives like a curtain
Being opened
By someone who isn't sure
The view deserves it

Tôi uống cà phê — I drink coffee
The way my mother drank trà
Not for the taste
But for the ceremony
Of holding something warm
While the morning
Decides what kind of morning
It intends to be

[Chorus]
(building — strings, brushed drums, the waltz expanding)
Café crème, café crème
A cup the size of a small decision
Café crème, café crème
The fog lifts not because the sun arrived
But because the fog
Was asked politely
By a molecule
That fits the lock
The tiredness
Had been using as a door
And the molecule
Changed the lock
And the tiredness
Stood outside
Looking confused
In its dressing gown

[Verse 2]
(just voice and upright bass, intimate)
Tôi không chắc tôi muốn tỉnh — I'm not sure I wanted to be clear
Not today
Not this early
Not with this much resolution
On the morning's face

But the porcelain is warm
And the warmth
Is an argument
That doesn't use words
It uses temperature
And the temperature says:
You are here
And the here is specific
And the specific
Is the café on Rue Cler
At seven
With the condensation
On the window
Drawing a map
Of nowhere in particular
And the nowhere
Is the most honest destination
Coffee has ever offered

[Bridge]
(accordion enters, tender, the village leaking through)
Bà ngoại uống cà phê đen — my grandmother drank it black
No sugar no cream
No apology
She said the bitterness
Was the honesty
And the honesty
Was what you were paying for
And the paying
Was the sitting
And the sitting
Was the only temple
She needed
At five in the morning
In a kitchen
That didn't need sugar
To be sweet

[Outro]
(the waltz winds gently down)
Café crème
(softly, the cup held in both hands)
The fog lifts
The window clears
Tôi ở đây — I am here
And the here
Has cream in it
(porcelain placed down — gently — the morning accepted)