HOL Ravenclaw

Your first full day as a Bridgeton resident begins with burnt toast and a nervous glance at your borrowed Muggle phone. A text message from the Ministry reads: “Blend. Observe. Report.”

The café is quiet in the early morning, save for the whirring espresso machine and an elderly woman who insists her coffee tastes better when served by “someone with the proper auras.”

You smile and nod.

A young boy outside kicks a football that bounces twice, then floats five feet into the air and hovers, spinning lazily. You snap a picture with your phone just in time as the ball drops with a thud. The boy stares at you. You shrug.

“Static electricity?”

You don’t think he buys it.

Task:
Write and post below a piece of Poetry in a minimum of 80 words that is an ode to a real or imagined café, or any favorite foods and/or drinks you love from a café. You must pick at least eight of the following words to include in your poem: Steam, Linger, Golden, Crave, Murmur, Sip, Glisten, Drizzle, Nestle, Swirl, Bask, Froth, Crumble, Slurp, Jitter, Puff, Dollop, Swig, Mingle, Bloom. You are welcome to change these words slightly to fit the piece, such as writing Sipped instead of Sip, or Blooming instead of Bloom.

Alternatively you can share any HOL appropriate experience you’ve had Working at a job, on a project, or doing homework or chores, etc., using a minimum of 150 words for full credit.

A bardic poem for Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

O gather round, ye travelers bold, and hear a tale I sing,
Of Legends & Lattes, where weary souls take wing.
The hearth is warm, the air a whisper, gentle, low,
Where steam from cups of courage makes the candlelight glow.

I sip the brew of barley-dark, its froth a crown so fair,
A dollop sweet of cream atop, no treasure can compare.
The cookies crumble, sugared dust, they glisten in the light,
While laughter mingles with the lute that plays into the night.

The golden scones, the swirl of foam, each story they crave to tell,
And adventurers who linger here find rest from questing well.
So raise a cup, ye wanderers, let weary hearts bask free,
For Legends & Lattes is the song of home to you and to me.

In real life my job is a clinical veterinarian, specifically in emergency and neurosurgical departments. As you can imagine, that comes with all sorts of interesting (and sometimes weird) stories. My absolute favorite case is one about a small dog named Bebe.

I was working in neurosurgical and it had been a crazy day full of MRIs and seizing creatures. We had a call come in at 4:30pm (30 minutes before we called it a day) from a referring general practice veterinarian that reported a dog had lost all motor function in all four legs following a routine spay (ovariohysterectomy/alter). My first thought was the dog had woken up from anesthesia, flailed in its cage and fractured its spine. We told the referring vet to send it over and we would do a consult.

The owners arrived with the cutest (and floppiest) little, white dog. Upon physical exam, she was noted to have absolutely zero motor in all four limbs and decreased respiratory ability. Highly concerned for spinal fracture, we recommend to start with spinal radiographs. The owners agreed to the plan and we moved her very carefully on a backboard to radiology.

We obtained several spinal radiographs, but I didn’t see an obvious fracture. I consulted with a more senior neurosurgeon and he immediately told me there was a bigger issue. I was so confused but when I stopped looking for an obvious fracture, I found the problem!

It turned out when the referring practice spayed the dog, they also placed a microchip device (this is a tracking device used to reunite lost creatures to their families). This is a very common practice to do while a patient is under anesthesia because the needle used to implant the device is rather large and can be painful to such a small pup. When the device was implanted however, the needle was held at the incorrect angle and the microchip went squarely between the 4th and 5th cervical vertebrae (neck bones about mid way down). This instantly caused the paralysis and the increased respiratory effort we had noticed on physical exam.

We prepped an operating room (theater) immediately and rushed her into surgery. We managed to remove the device but unfortunately irreversible damage had been done. We were unsure if Bebe would ever be able to walk again.

She stayed with us in hospital for about two weeks and did physical therapy twice a day. She was discharged home and the owners brought her back to clinic every day for physical therapy. After three months, Bebe did regain some motor control and is able to walk, albeit very wobbly.

It was one of the most unreal and crazy surgeries I have been a part of.

How I do crave something sweet,
Whether it's to drink or to eat,
The steam that blooms before me,
Is just enough for me,
To accept these murmurs from earlier on.

I really must mingle,
But I just got a tingle,
For a sip and a bite,
Oh, what a delight!
That this golden latte and cake shall be.

This lemon drizzle cake,
That's causing my soul to wake,
Is now floating up,
Along with this cup,
Quick there's the thief!

I must get up quick,
But I feel like a brick,
I want to bask in these fumes,
And never leave these rooms,
Alas mission, I bid you goodbye.

I used to do the social media for an animal shelter. One day I came in to work and started taking pictures of cats to promote on the shelter social media. Typical day for me- I liked to take pictures first because less people visited in the morning. I got to a cage with a cat I’d never seen before.

He was a gorgeous shiny black cat- a “void” as I like to call black cats. He had big green eyes and was already rolling around playfully on his back for attention. I had a hard time resisting any of the animals at the shelter, but even though it’s been years since I was there, I still remember my first meeting with Loki (as that black cat was called). Loki and I were fast friends. He was super playful and mischievous and I liked to try to entertain him while simultaneously trying to do my job. It was very hard!!

I would have taken him home with me instantly if I didn’t still live with my parents who were allergic to cats. Anyway, that was one of my favorite days at work at the animal shelter. Loki made it special with our instant connection. I know he went to a good home when he was adopted and I’m glad that even if I couldn’t have him, he still found a forever home with someone else.

An Ode to Molly’s Tearoom

Sips of nectar, brew of perfection
The taste of frothy goodness lingers.
Steaming cup of paradise
Is mine, all mine!

For a small fee, pittance really,
I sip and savor each dollop of heaven
Puffs of paradise dressed
In a drizzle of chocolate heaven.

The glistening surface beckons me
I take a dink and murmur praise.
I should mingle with the others
But this is a solitary pursuit of pleasure.

Caffeine shot to cure the jitters
Morning pick-up, night time killer,
Chasing thoughts of dreams away.
Sleep becomes a fuzzy memory.

All around me voices call out
A shared coffee-fueled nirvana
Not an angry word is spoken
To break the sanctuary of peace.

Some may say I praise too freely
It’s ’just coffee’ or so I’m told.
To the naysayers, I say ‘Nonsense!’
You have your dreams; I have mine.

Cappuccino, espresso, latte
Pick your poison carefully.
All are equally worthy beverages
Brewed with love, enjoyed the same.

Thank you, Mollys, for this present
A wonderful start to every day.
Long will I sing lauds and praises
For your service to humankind.

I wander in where sunlight swirls,
Steam puffing soft like tiny cloud girls.
Golden rays drape the windowsill,
And every corner seems to hum and thrill.

I linger here as murmurs bloom,
A gentle chatter fills every room.
I crave the pastries piled high with care,
Their crumble sparkling in the morning air.

A dollop of cream atop a latte so sweet,
Drizzle of caramel making my heart skip a beat.
I sip, I slurp, I swig with delight,
As froth and chocolate twirl in playful flight.

Scones nestle beside jars that glisten,
Honeyed joy waiting for hands that christen.
Jitter of laughter, a puff of warm tea,
Swirls of cinnamon dancing free.

Flavours mingle, a merry parade,
Each bite is a magic spell lovingly made.
I bask in the sunlight, in warmth, in cheer,
Every sip a moment I hold dear.

Steam rises, carrying dreams on its wings,
The blooming aroma of morning brings
A whimsy that tickles, a comfort, a play,
Turning the café into a fairy-tale day.

My job is typically landscaping, but in this story, it's not exactly what we do in a typical day. In winter, my town hosts an annual ice sculpture event, for which volunteers help set up. Local companies pay to have an ice sculpture created for their business as a form of advertisement, and the four largest ones are done on the same day, allowing people to watch them being made. My company had signed us up to assist with the setup, but while we were on the clock and got paid, while people who were actually volunteering did it for the love of the ice sculptures. We set the pre-made sculptures in their designated spots and placed blocks of ice when the large ones were going to be sculpted. After the setup was finished, everyone else left, but since we were being paid, we stayed as the big ice blocks began being cut into to make them into sculptures. Our job at that point was to move the chunks they cut off to keep things tidy so people could still have walking room to admire. I also ended up in the background of a news segment about the event, so that summed up my very unusual day at work.