Apostrophes: Odes to Coffee and Shakespeare

Ode to Coffee​

You are fuel for a nation,
Naturally bitter; sweetened by
Honey, milk, sugar.

You are exotic, born from the jungles
of Brazil or Indonesia;  
You are pedestrian, ground up into a can and
bought at the store down the street.

When I’m feeling under the weather, you
pick me up, you ol’ reliable friend, always
there when I need someone to lean on.

You wake me up in the mornings, and
you keep the sleep at bay come night.

Whether it be a shot of espresso or
a bottomless pot,
O, you glorious cuppa joe
What would we do without you?
​

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Ode to Shakespeare

O, thou master of verse
what could one write without
thy works? Surely something worse
for thy wit and thy words without a doubt
have called forth to all writers come after thee.

And forever and a day will all good men and true
hear the rhymes thou hast writ, the lines that be,
and lo, thou art immortal! Thou live on through
the hearts and minds of the millions thou
hast affected. Truly, if the music be the food
of love, then brevity be the soul of wit, right? Anyhow,
thy dramas are the stuff dreams are made on,
and thy comedies harken back to foregone
days in an instant. Do not you worry; this is the short and
the long of it: we thank thee, dear William.