A Miracle for Breakfast

The title of the poem produces one of its primary themes: Miracles. Aside from the title, the word first appears in the simile when the speaker says the breakfast will “be served from a certain balcony / —like kings of old, or like a miracle” (Lines 3-4). Here, the theme of miracles maintains a hierarchy. A miracle occurs after the mention of “kings” and thus, speaks to the power of the miracle. Instead of a throne, the miracle has a balcony. From this high-up position, a miracle for breakfast makes its way down to those with few privileges and resources—people “waiting for coffee and the charitable crumb” (Line 2).

Next, the theme of miracles takes on a transformational quality, as the speaker and others hope the “crumb / would be a loaf each, buttered, by a miracle” (Lines 10-11). The miracle, hypothetically, can turn the tiny crumb into a big loaf of buttered bread due to its supernatural powers. The coffee and roll maintain the potential to become something more than they are when a servant gives the man on the balcony the “makings of a miracle” (Line 15). Yet the anticipated transformation fails. The miracle never arrives; the crowd receives only “one rather hard crumb” (Line 21) and “one drop of coffee” (Line 23).