‘Starbucks Villanelle’ by Matt Hsu The Society January 31, 2022 High School Submissions, Humor, Poetry, Villanelle 9 Comments . Starbucks Villanelle Will someone call an order for Elaine? I have a bunch of stuff I need to do. The wait today is driving me insane. This one dude wants a pinch of sugar cane. I can’t believe he’s holding up the queue Will someone call an order for Elaine? I’m standing here and all I feel is pain. My legs and feet are slowly turning blue. The wait today is driving me insane. Barista, please, I’ll gift you some champagne. You don’t want me to leave a bad review. Will someone call an order for Elaine? I ain’t the type of person to complain, But it’s not like I asked you for a choux. The wait today is driving me insane. I want to drive a fork into my brain. It cannot take this long to make cold brew. Will someone call an order for Elaine? The wait today is driving me insane. . . Matt Hsu is a Grade 12 student at San Francisco University High School. NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets. The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary. CODEC Stories:Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) 9 Responses Paul Freeman January 31, 2022 Wow! A fabulous piece of writing, Matt, and so relevant. Plus it just trips off the tongue with its guffaw-inducing energy. AND, such a difficult form! ‘I want to drive a fork into my brain.’ Magic! If I may, that word ‘cold’ jarred a bit. Perhaps ‘a’, instead. Thanks for the read – you’re a natural, methinks! Reply Margaret Coats January 31, 2022 Cold brew, popularized by Starbucks, is made over many hours because the ground coffee is never heated, but soaked in room temperature water. It’s supposed to create a distinctive flavor and maintain all the nutritional benefits of coffee beans that are lost to high temperatures. These are reasons that make it a fashion statement, as Joe S. notes below. Reply Margaret Coats January 31, 2022 And Matt, your poem makes excellent use of the villanelle form to express the frustration often brewed at Starbucks when customers make specialized demands and staff take their time in performing the simplest tasks of service. Reply Joseph S. Salemi January 31, 2022 A very nice villanelle, Mr. Hsu, and quite funny. Starbucks makes the worst damned coffee in the United States. It’s overheated, bitter, and barely potable. I don’t know why all those idiots are waiting on line for it, other than their delusion that drinking the stuff is a high-class fashion statement. Reply James A. Tweedie January 31, 2022 Matt, Hilarious and so true to life. Give us more! I won’t go so far as to describe Starbuck’s coffee as the worst but I will confidently opine that my friend David’s coffee is the best! Reply Cynthia Erlandson February 1, 2022 This villanelle is a much better way to stay the day than Starbucks! Such a pleasure to read — the humor and the poetic skill shown are both wonderful! Reply Matt Hsu February 1, 2022 Thanks for all your kind comments guys! I’m so glad you liked this fun little poem! Reply Norma Pain February 1, 2022 Well, I don’t drink coffee but I felt as if I was standing in line, getting bitterer by the moment…. is bitterer a word? Great poem, thank you Matt. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant February 2, 2022 I am a huge fan of the villanelle, and your up-to-the-minute subject matter, together with the witty way in which you convey it, elevates the form to lofty heights. Very well done, indeed, Matt! How could any poetry lover pass by a villanelle with a title that promises so much?… it also delivers. Reply Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Captcha loading...In order to pass the CAPTCHA please enable JavaScript. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email. Δ This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Paul Freeman January 31, 2022 Wow! A fabulous piece of writing, Matt, and so relevant. Plus it just trips off the tongue with its guffaw-inducing energy. AND, such a difficult form! ‘I want to drive a fork into my brain.’ Magic! If I may, that word ‘cold’ jarred a bit. Perhaps ‘a’, instead. Thanks for the read – you’re a natural, methinks! Reply
Margaret Coats January 31, 2022 Cold brew, popularized by Starbucks, is made over many hours because the ground coffee is never heated, but soaked in room temperature water. It’s supposed to create a distinctive flavor and maintain all the nutritional benefits of coffee beans that are lost to high temperatures. These are reasons that make it a fashion statement, as Joe S. notes below. Reply
Margaret Coats January 31, 2022 And Matt, your poem makes excellent use of the villanelle form to express the frustration often brewed at Starbucks when customers make specialized demands and staff take their time in performing the simplest tasks of service. Reply
Joseph S. Salemi January 31, 2022 A very nice villanelle, Mr. Hsu, and quite funny. Starbucks makes the worst damned coffee in the United States. It’s overheated, bitter, and barely potable. I don’t know why all those idiots are waiting on line for it, other than their delusion that drinking the stuff is a high-class fashion statement. Reply
James A. Tweedie January 31, 2022 Matt, Hilarious and so true to life. Give us more! I won’t go so far as to describe Starbuck’s coffee as the worst but I will confidently opine that my friend David’s coffee is the best! Reply
Cynthia Erlandson February 1, 2022 This villanelle is a much better way to stay the day than Starbucks! Such a pleasure to read — the humor and the poetic skill shown are both wonderful! Reply
Matt Hsu February 1, 2022 Thanks for all your kind comments guys! I’m so glad you liked this fun little poem! Reply
Norma Pain February 1, 2022 Well, I don’t drink coffee but I felt as if I was standing in line, getting bitterer by the moment…. is bitterer a word? Great poem, thank you Matt. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant February 2, 2022 I am a huge fan of the villanelle, and your up-to-the-minute subject matter, together with the witty way in which you convey it, elevates the form to lofty heights. Very well done, indeed, Matt! How could any poetry lover pass by a villanelle with a title that promises so much?… it also delivers. Reply
