Hot Mess

In the café rush, a stranger is lost,

struggling to twist off a thermos lid, at what cost?

Steam spirals upward, a dance of despair,

fingers fumbling, and I’m caught unaware.

A simple act becomes a struggle to share,

a hot mess of needs, with no one to care.

I watch the frustration bloom like a rose,

desire for warmth in the chill that flows.