Donna Kiser

BREAKFAST OF THE CHANGING MIND

I can never seem to make up my mind anymore.
I think I might like to do something, get halfway there,
then decide NO!

Sometimes, I don't even get out of the door before I change.
Sometimes, I sit and change my mind for hours.

This morning I was intent on the Blues fest.
Then, I decided beach by home was better.
There, I overheard the mention of breakfast at Café Selmarie.
"Yeah, that sounds great!"
Off to the restaurant, then,
"I should just go home and cook"
However, onward, only to find -
too late for breakfast at Cafe Selmarie.
"Just go home and cook!"

Instead, I walked north on Lincoln toward Lawrence,
ended up at Barba Yianni Grecian Taverna,
looking for breakfast.
Another person may not have stayed,
But, my mind just didn't change.

A jolly Greek woman said,
"Ya, eggs, sausage, potatoes, ya breakfast."
Seated outside with a menu, she left to return with the waitress.
With no breakfast on the menu, I asked and the waitress replied,
"Well, yeah, but..."
My mind should've changed—but it didn't
The jolly Greek again said, "Ya, eggs, sausage, bacon."
"Bacon," I said, and "iced café."
The waitress shook her head but the elder said, "ya, ya" and off they went.

I sat there on Lincoln Ave.
"OK, I'll write."

The waitress returned, "is not REAL iced caf", is American coffee
with ice, but we have coke and cranberry juice."
"I'll take the American coffee with ice."

How can they possibly screw that up?

It was in fact quite good. But still—
I feared for my breakfast, but my mind wouldn't change.
And then it came.
Scrambled eggs (perfectly light), mashed potatoes (for breakfast?),
but REAL potatoes.
Sliced tomatoes, home grown, and fresh feta cheese.
No toast, even though I'd asked, instead,
warm, fresh baked Greek bread,
with REAL, whipped butter.

And to top it all off?
The food was fucking delicious!

One thing—no bacon.
The waitress said, "Maybe she's out, she says ya a lot, ya know?"

Well, she really hadn't lied.

"How about sausage?"
She returned with a plate of ONE sausage.
Fresh-made, sautéed, Greek sausage.

The best restaurant breakfast experience ever, all because I can
never seem to make up my mind anymore.

Owned by three cats, Donna Kiser, is mother of three and grandmother of six, a corporate refugee since 2001, a social activist and recovering hermit. Her work has appeared in several print and online journals and she is currently seeking publication for her compilation Ravings of a Sagittarian Woman-Child.