non-dairy alternatives

the milk revealing itself to be off in the morning is always a surprise
an alchemy of a thing
as heat makes roiling lumps from cream

I did remember it later when I was coming back from town which was
mainly because I was starting to get a headache
but my bag was so full
I had to hold the plastic bottle in my hand which was too cold
for winter with no gloves

the man sitting opposite me on the bus saw I had given it it’s own seat
and asked me what it was for
which felt such a personal question until he explained coffee or tea
not that it mattered what I said and he listed all of the milks he had tried
and why each one worked or didn’t
which is mainly a list of milks that all go well in coffee but not in tea
except for cow’s milk and goat’s but not sheep’s apparently
and I knew he was right particularly about the oat milk
because that’s why I had skipped tea this morning
because sometimes an oat milk back-up
with sinking oaty clouds is a bit much
and then my boyfriend rang me

non-dairy alternatives

when I put down
he asked if that was my partner on the phone
and he asked it suddenly carefully after the cascade of milk reviews
I hadn’t really thought about being outed by a name like Jon
showing up on a phone screen
said yes it was
but then he said oh well that’s okay then
I spent the rest of the afternoon wanting to try almond milk in coffee
wondering what he had meant by that
and half wishing I had hugged him because he felt kind
and I felt a hug would almost have made sense
or have been the strangest thing to do