Over lunch with my husband in our local café, I settled into the gentle rhythm of the room—the soft sigh of the coffee machine, the low hum of conversation. Around us, friends chatted and colleagues worked, all our different lives briefly sharing the same warm space. As one half of the gay pair from the poem, I felt a quiet gratitude for a place where our love simply belongs, and where inspiration arrives softly in the steady joy of being together.
Coffee Quiet: with company
The coffee machine softly sighs,
its hiss a calm the day implies.
The latte’s whirr begins to spin,
and peace and chat drift softly in.
A gay pair share their lunchtime treat,
two coding bros tap out a beat.
A man and woman pause their day,
while businessmen trade charts away.
Between four hands, the ceramic glows,
a quiet heat that comes and goes.
No need for words to claim the air—
the peace is in the sitting there.
All gathered here, yet each apart,
held in these walls with gentle heart.
A quiet space where all belong,
safe in the café’s steady song.
Copyright 2026 Michael McFarland Campbell.
A stained-glass style illustration of a cozy café interior divided into four scenes. In the top left, two women smile at each other while holding coffee cups beside a softly steaming espresso machine. In the top right, two men wearing headphones work on laptops, green binary code glowing behind them. In the bottom left, a man and woman lean close together over coffee and pastries. In the bottom right, two businessmen in suits converse over documents and cups of coffee. At the center bottom, a large candle set inside a coffee cup glows warmly above an open book, surrounded by additional cups and leafy plants. The artwork features rich amber, gold, teal, and blue glass panels with bold black leading lines, creating a warm, welcoming atmosphere.
NeuroDivine 
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