Da Bei Style Tea (Poem)

When you have gone,

I shall drink only aged tea

Grown wild and crafted with careful intent.

I make my first cup but forget,

Lost in thoughts of you warm beside me.

The tea forgives my lapse of attention,

Made from leaves that hold the thread of time.

I cradle the warm cup in my hands along with my grief,

Each sip tasting of dark earth and rich love.

Do not go just yet.

Not yet. I am not ready.