In just two short stanzas, the speaker thanks a cup of coffee. The poem is a tiny ode, as the title says, and it treats an everyday habit with real gratitude. The speaker claims that coffee is the reason they can enjoy small things: the quiet details of an ordinary day that are easy to rush past.
The second stanza gives coffee a surprising makeover. It becomes a "black sage," a wise teacher, and its darkness suits the image of a drink poured black into a cup. What this sage favors is "a free mind," so the coffee seems to loosen thinking and make it wander more easily. The tone is warm and a little playful, since the speaker half-jokes by giving a humble drink such grand praise. Yet the feeling behind it seems sincere. The mood is calm, alert, and contented, like the first quiet moments of a morning with a hot cup in your hands.