Would you pay for coffee with poetry?

Imagine if you could pay for your coffee with poetry? Well, over the weekend you could (sorry you missed it!). It was World Poetry Day on Saturday and poets around the world were encouraged to write a poem in exchange for one cup of coffee. There were over 1,100 participating cafes and it made us think: what would you like to see traded?

There was a man who traded a paper clip for a house – he started with a paper clip and traded things up until he was able to acquire a house. But nothing seems to have really taken off in Australia.

The UNESCO World Poetry Day promotion to trade poems for coffee appeared to have been a success, though some were not sure if their poetry would be good enough to warrant the barista gifting them a coffee. But knowing there are so many poets in our community, what would you write?

Here’s some of our favourites that were shared on Twitter over the weekend:

INCOMPATIBLE You bring me coffee I bake you cake I eat your coffee You drink my cake Then we practice the art of conversation #PayWithAPoem

— Solveig Hansen (@ZolH) March 21, 2015

Got a mint tea instead of a coffee! #PaywithaPoem at @CeruLondon pic.twitter.com/ptBIboIEOw

— Megha Harish (@megha_harish) March 21, 2015

 

Poets should be able to #PayWithAPoem everyday, and not just for coffee, but for anything their heart desires!

— Emtee Headed (@EmteeHeaded) March 23, 2015

“This coffee is awful!” “Indeed, sir. We try to match our coffees to the poems as closely as possible.” #PayWithAPoem @daveyssuitcase

— Writers’ Greenhouse (@WritersGreenHse) March 22, 2015