scrambled in butter, fluffy and warm. 
Think egg but fried in bacon grease like Grandma used to make. 
Burner cranked high, edges crisping brown, sizzles 
when she flips it over, flattens it with the spatula. 

Fries it some more, slaps it between two sensible slices 
of brown bread with a dollop of mustard inside. 
She wraps it in waxed paper, sends me out 
to Grampa’s truck for my ride to school. 

I take a bite and discover that the yolk is a yellow river 
running down my chin, over my fingers, and onto my shirt. 
I wipe it off as best I can but Grampa doesn’t want to hear 
my problems. He dumps me at the junior high anyway. 

Rush to the girls’ restroom hoping no one sees me. 
The soap dispenser is empty—this is school after all—
so I scrub at the stain with a paper towel and water. 
The yolk color is gone but there is still a big grease spot 

over my non-existent right boob. The tardy bell rings. 
Me and my ego, both cracked and covered with grease, 
scurry through the day, holding my books 
tight against my chest. 

Patricia L. Scruggs

is the author of one poetry collection, Forget the Moon. Her work has been nominated recently for a Pushcart Prize, and has appeared in Burningword Literary Journal, Crab Creek Review, Cultural Weekly [now Cultural Daily], Inlandia, MacQueen’s Quinterly, ONTHEBUS, Rattle, RipRap, and Spillway, among others; as well as in these anthologies: 13 Los Angeles Poets, So Luminous the Wildflowers, and Beyond the Lyric Moment.

Born in Colorado, Patricia spent ten formative years in Alberta, Canada before taking root in Southern California. She earned her MFA at California State University, Fullerton. Now a retired art teacher, she and her husband of 60+ years are parents of two and grandparents of three.

More on the Web: By, About, and Beyond

⚡ Contemporary Stuff in Burningword Literary Journal (July 2023)

⚡ A Dazzle of Zebras Escapes From a Maryland Farm in MacQueen’s Quinterly (Issue 12, March 2022)