Poetry by Shreya Datta
If you like your pleasures subtle,
and your caffeine lean,
I present before you
the delights of Darjeeling.
Not the tea bags — get the actual leaves.
No Earl Grey, sugar, or additives.
One teaspoon for a cup so fine
warrants a pretty tea set — I’ve got mine!
Steep, sip, savor —
the foothills’ Himalayan flavor.
Can you taste inspiration,
with a hint of salvation?
Inhale the mountain’s lessons,
let your tongue explore those Darjeeling sensations.
Improves your enjoyment of books,
gifts you a contemplative outlook.
This isn’t matcha or chai —
it’s its own serene high.
Like a woman, this tea blushes
in different hues with its seasonal flushes.
A handshake in a cup, the Champagne of all teas,
a quiet ritual so comforting.
Sip slowly, breathe with ease —
and fall in love with Darjeeling, please.
Shreya Datta is a Philadelphia-based poet whose work dwells in small beauties and quiet awakenings. Her poems appear or are forthcoming in Lighten Up Online, Rue Scribe, Poets Choice, Wingless Dreamer Press, and Moonstone Press. She writes about tenderness, belonging, and the art of seeing.
