To Tea or not to Tea…That is my question

Poetry Reading tonight at the Sequel Bookstore on Railroad Street, Enumclaw.  September 13 at 7:00 p.m.  This is my original poem that I will be sharing:

I like tea, but dear me,

I forget that my cupboard is full of tea

So I buy another box.

And I ponder now

Why so many different packages of tea?

Am I really this indecisive? This erratic?

Earl Grey is my favorite go-to tea:

Naturally Decaffeinated,

Williamson, or Double Bergamot.

But just what is Bergamot?

Can I buy single Bergamot?

Is Bergamot good for me or not?

These sound exotic:  Oolong and Malunggay.

Help me find my way.

In my kitchen I also have a rainbow of tea, fruity teas:

White tea, vanilla bean tea,

Red Tea, Wild Cherry, or Jasmine,

Green Tea, Orange Pekoe,  

Strawberry and cranberry flavored teas,

Black Currant and Pomegranate Black, what a hoot!

Aha, Bergamot is a Mediterranean citrus fruit.

Dare I drink these with lunch or dinner?

Irish Breakfast Tea or English Breakfast Tea.

And now, I must ask,

What the heck is eleuthero?

Do I need this box of detox tea?

Ooh no, it has juniper berries;

Aren’t they poisonous?

And what of Rose Petals and Bishop’s Weed?

Are they truly good for me?

The herbal teas should be healthy, right?

I see they have ingredients of peppermint, cinnamon, and ginger,

Chamomile and licorice…

Really? Candy in tea?

Can this be?

But should I drink tea with catnip, lemongrass,

Tillia flowers, and eleuthero?

Just what is eleuthero?

The brand name, yes, perhaps the brand name

Will narrow it down for me.

Lipton, Bigelow, Nestea.

Cain’s, Stash, Hedley’s?

Let me see…Yogi?

Celestial Seasonings sounds heavenly.

Constant Comment—sounds like a chatterbox.

Tension Tamer?  Oh now that sounds ideal.

But no, that’s the one with the eleuthero

And I still don’t know if that should stay or go.

Wrapping it up,

The study of tea, this tea of mine:

The Williamson Earl Grey box proclaims

They have been tea farmers since 1869.

Surely, they have it down to a “T” by now.

Surely, that will be the best for me.

But to play it safe,

I’ll think I’ll drink

Naturally decaffeinated H2O

From the tap at my sink.

--copyright Marilyn White as published in Contrast: Coffee or Tea (the quarterly anthology of the Plateau Area Writer's Association.