The Bong Chai Bar

The Chai Bar beckons with it's fascinating brews
Cookbooks languidly lie around
Shelves brightly painted in reds and blues
Not one on coffee though... roasted or ground.

Pairs drawn by soft-lit catty corner chairs
Designers, artists, by the smoky hues
Professors by the quiet deferential air
Of waiters gliding by on soft soled shoes.

Speilburg,Camus,Dylan Thomas,vie
For attention from the Bongs now in chinos and Ts
No more Jhola bags or nerdy 'Eton' crews
Bring on the Fastracks the Guccis and Lees.

Browse,argue,whisper,pontificate
Drink a cuppa, chew on toast, ketchup on a plate
Give a Bong a chai bar and watch him fly
His repertiore of opinions never runs dry!

Hope

Hope is a drop of water
Trembling at the tip of a dry leaf.
A grain of sugar undissolved
On the rim of an empty cup.
It is a paper windmill
On a still day
A grain of sand
On the edge of a boat forgotten
Waiting for the pounding of wind tossed waves
The throb of a raging storm at sea
Life's not over till hope departs.