The following version of this poem was used to create this guide: O’Melveny, Mary K. “Black Coffee Blues.” Jerry Jazz Musician, https://www.jerryjazzmusician.com/black-coffee-blues-a-poem-by-mary-omelveny/.

Note that all parenthetical citations refer to the stanza and sentence from which the quotation is taken.

“Black Coffee Blues” is a prose poem by American poet Mary K O’Melveny. It first appeared in the online jazz-focused literary magazine Jerry Jazz Musician in 2024. Jerry Jazz Musician also published O’Melveny’s hybrid poetry collection, If You Want To Go To Heaven, Follow A Songbird, which blends poetry and music. “Black Coffee Blues” uses the impact of music as a lens through which to examine heartache and loneliness.