Cup Browned with Tea

The cup browned with tea
It was growing
a crack
from the rim down.
A tiny chip had given birth
to this fine crack so fond of leaves.
He watched them as they opened
and how they stained the water their insistent
deepest orange bleeding from their green.
A line went down around the handle
and curved around his finger
as he held it close
to sip
and calm his nerves
because he'd seen that crack too.
Not unlike the crack above his head.
He lay there watching it grow.
It would inevitably spill
into his lap.
Water and all.
That worried him
So he drank some more.