In response to a prompt at imaginary garden with real toads. Laurie Kolp’s challenge to write to the word miscreant. I saw a photo that Laurie had a link to that resonated, and just happened to work well with the word prompt too.

Company for Lunch

Just before noon our noses
find the source of wafting smells
fried potatoes and hot oil, a soupςon
of vinegar and salt, ketchup for non-purists
or non-Canadians. Chip wagon.

Chips (BE), French fries (AE), French fried potatoes (AE) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We order our usual medium fries, salt
and vinegar at the half-full point,
then another generous scoop of hot
potato, fingers of starchy yum.

Trail of Crumbs photo Credit: L. Kolp

My brother’s serving overflows, he drops five
leaving a trail of crumb-gulls,
french fry hawks and other
feathered miscreants to squawk
and hover, a flurry of wings as each
tries to steal a treasured prize.
In thirty seconds, no trace of spill remains.
A wary truce as birds move off to
wait for the next free lunch.

Carol A. Stephen

August 11, 2012