Unearned Heat

She smiled, just like she knew,

and waved away my cash.

"It's covered," she said, quick and new,

a lightning-fast, kind flash.

My coffee, warm, then hot,

the steam climbed to my face.

This thing I hadn't sought,

had found its proper place

right in my hand, a heavy cup.

A simple, paid-for treat.

And something else welled up,

a sour taste, not sweet.

I gripped the paper, thinking why,

what debt did I now hold?

Just her quick grace beneath the sky,

a story left untold.