January begins with cream (Poem)

January begins with cream,

fresh strawberries tucked into it — the kind you used
to get in Devon every afternoon
with a warm scone and Tiptree & Son's strawberry jam —

then the slow pour
of Jersey milk that changes forever
the amber glow of the full-bodied Prince of Wales

in white bone china. I measure just enough
to cloud the stain still
in the cup with your name on it.

© 2013 Maureen E. Doallas
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This month's theme at Every Day Poems from T.S. Poetry Press is "Coffee & Tea". Seth Haines leads the kick-off with this playlist. Join us for a month of poetry on the subject. Add your poem in the Comments section, where you'll find another one of my own poems from a possible series I'm calling "Picking Teas".

One of my favorite afternoon teas, Prince of Wales is a blend of China black teas. It was created for Edward, Prince of Wales (later, King Edward VIII), who gave Twinings permission to sell his personal blend using the royal title. In 1837, Queen Victoria granted Twinings its first Royal Warrant for tea by appointing the company the supplier of teas to her household. While it retained its long-held warrant, the company in 2010 suffered scathing attacks for transferring its tea production outside the United Kingdom.