Warm it in the microwave
for 30 seconds
then fill it with bold coffee.
Flip it upside down
and press the rim into dough
for perfectly shaped biscuits.
Turn it over
and read the stamp of origin:
England, Japan, Sweden, China
USA.
Balance it on the roof of your car
while driving to work.
Display it like a trophy,
“Best Mom in the World”
“Teaching is my Superpower”
“New York Marathon”
Juggle it.
Sell it in a yard sale.
Crush it to make art.
Write your first name
and last initial
on the bottom with a Sharpie.
Hang it from a hook.
Stack it on a shelf.
Load it in the dishwasher.
Pass it down to your
college-age daughter.
Place it on your desk,
like a vase
and fill it with newly
sharpened pencils.
Store just-in-case-you-need-it
or I-don’t-know-what-this-is
items for safekeeping.
Let it be the first thing
you hold in the morning.
And the last item
to touch your lips
at night.
Based on a Kwame Alexander poetry exercise, The Write Thing, p. 152.
The Way I See It 
Now I want a cup of coffee! What a wonderful poem filled with description and creative uses for one of my favorite household items.
LikeLike
Such a simple thing, but so beloved! I’m a tea drinker and I love the feel of a warm mug cradled in my hands in the early hours of a school day. And I always need more places to put my “might-need-it-sometime” knick knacks. Thanks for sharing!
LikeLike
Amazing how those objects, centered, can share our days! I’m inspired to look up Alexander’s book.
LikeLike
Now I have a new book to add to my list, and a new kind of poem to try. 🙂
LikeLike
The life cycle of a mug in your possession, I loved this so much, especially the endearing detail, “Balance it on the roof of your car / while driving to work.” and your last stanza, a detail of my own life that I had not paused to consider.
LikeLike
This is such a great poem of ALL the ways of a simple object – a mug.
I found myself learing so much about you and also smiling when I made a connection and said inside my head, “I’ve done that, too”. Accomplishing those two things as a writer makes this a great piece of writing in my opinion.
Thanks for sharing!
LikeLike