Devil in the Details

Woke up after a late night before 8 to walk the dog
came back in, pulled out the big coffeepot and made a batch
breakfast for 4 aint much different than breakfast for 2

Usually we get the Jumbo eggs but the Large have been on sale
and throwing them on the griddle and giving them an easy flip
produces a bird of an entirely different feather
Fluffy and light and mostly retaining the shape they hit the grill on

Chicken apple sausages split nearly down through the middle
fried in a little butter till they’re crisp and smoky
curled into an unreadable mouth of simple line drawings
of smiles and frowns imposed on each other

A slice of dark rye, broke in half and thrown in the toaster
served with strawberry jam, coffee and fresh orange juice

I laid the sausage at the bottom of the plate’s canvas
the two eggs at opposing angles hovering above
perched upon by the fox ears of dark toast

J. was the first to acknowledge the effort, dubbing his breakfast
Bunny Lips
I cleared the table, did the dishes, we walked outside in the sun,
and watched the dog stalk and sprint and run under the blanket
of early morning light sprinkling through the canopy of the trees
smoking cigarettes and shooting the shit

We went inside when Ma came out to greet everyone
she left her breakfast to get cold rather than eating in front of them
don’t think she even saw Bunny Lips

We closed the screendoor and turned off the AC, cups more of Joe
cigarette smoke from the barstools sucked up by the stove’s exhaust fan
the ladies gossiped on the bar floor with their coffeecups on the table
LPs spinning behind them with Cash gushing out from a single speaker

I should’ve brought the dog in to say goodbye
but she was quite content outside and it slipped my mind
though they didn’t seem too bothered, J. got to pick her up in the kitchen,
rub her belly, maybe they bonded there and they were done