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  1. University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
  2. Medicine and Meaning
  3. Waiting For Breakfast in Rehab

Waiting For Breakfast in Rehab

By John McPherson

The angled morning sun
reveals the grimy streaks
on the windows
as I wait for breakfast.

My view is another wing
across a small courtyard where 
patients can practice walking again.

My room-mate, ran over
by a pick-up while riding a bike,
moans softly in his sleep.
I try not to wake him when
I go to the bathroom.

The angle of the sun grows weaker,
more direct sunlight
washes out the grime and streaks
on the windows.

Breakfast arrives,
the coffee is tepid,
the eggs are runny,
the biscuit is cold.

Where is a sun for my window?

John McPherson started writing for contests in 2015 when he was in his mid-seventies. In addition to contests, his poems have appeared in The Avocet, a quarterly publication emphasizing poetry about nature; Post Scrip, an anthology of postcard poetry; and various other anthologies. His short stories have appeared in Del Garrett’s Vault of Terror, Volumes one, two, and three. He has served as President of White County Creative Writers, Gin Creek Poets, and Poets’ Roundtable of Arkansas. He currently lives in Searcy, Arkansas, just 20 miles from the small town he grew up in, having lived in Little Rock, and Russellville.

Posted on October 4, 2021

Filed Under: 4 - Poetry

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