Hot Buttered Toast or Breakfast in Bed.

Make toast in the old fashioned way;
yesterday's bread sliced thickly,
speared on the tines of a fork
and held over an open fire -
not dancing with exuberant flame
but glowing sullen red.
When the bread takes on the colour
of  ripe grain and smells of late summer,
slide it onto a warm plate and spread
lasciviously with rich, yellow butter
which straightaway will soften
and start to flow viscously
like desire into the hot bread.


Gather the toast onto a tray
with a ramekin of marmalade,
a pot of English breakfast tea
and one single crimson rose.
Make for the stairs at steady pace
allowing the scent of thoughtfulness
and morning pleasures to march ahead
announcing to the beloved one
the imminent arrival of
breakfast in bed.