Coffee & Poetry

Sarah Strange is an official Brussels tour guide, and Expat Club regular and a published poet, the Poet in the Woods. Recently she visited our weekly Café Lunci coffee meeting and was inspired by the casual and friendly atmosphere. The result is a great poem that captures the essence of these meetups.

Come on over one of these weeks yourself. We meet every Monday at JAT’ Café at Rue Namur, at just 100 meters from Place Royale. Besides a poet, we welcome entrepreneurs, expat spouses, temporarily unemployed and anyone in between. Just drop by between 10h00 and 12h30 and you’ll find us at the tables in the middle. But now, without further ado, here is her poem “Just Connect”.

It’s always good to spread one’s wings;
At “meet-ups” one learns many things
Chance encounters – no man’s land
New names, new faces – all unplanned.

It can be awkward at the start
As lots of nations now take part
But many languages are spoken
So nervous ice is quickly broken.

Job seekers, émigrés brand new
And lonely singles form a queue
For coffee or a cup of tea
And wonder who else there will be …

We’ve all got gifts which we can share
Experiences both rich and rare
It’s like a stock exchange; we trade
Knowledge – not money I’m afraid!

But making links is where it’s at
Here people come to have a chat
It’s question time – no holds are barred
Would you like my business card?

Social networks such as these
Work in varying degrees
For just two hours once a week
It pays to come along and speak!

Brussels is so proud to be
A cultural mix – a pot pourri
Whether European or U.S.
All go away with more not less!

© Poet in the woods 2015

Did you like this one? Please also read her earlier poem about Expat Club, Meeting of Minds.