title: Psalms of the Dining Room:
author: Lauren Schmidt
description: '<i>In Psalms of the Dining Room</i>, Lauren Schmidt lays down riffs like a fierce blues guitarist, one who knows the power of each carefully chosen note. These poems explode with tough compassion. They sting a little bit--they make us flinch in recognition. Schmidt's sharply etched details tell the powerful stories of her characters' struggles to be seen, to be acknowledged as human. These poems remind us of how close we all are to each other, despite efforts at denial and distance, despite how violence can erode the human spirit. Her characters fight for dignity in the face of everything rigged to keep them down.'<br />-Jim Daniels<br />author of <i>In Line for the Exterminator</i> --Wipf and Stock Publishers
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  [Chapter 6](A_Scoundrel_s_Surrender_split_003.html#filepos2522)
  
  Caleb groaned as he entered the breakfast room. Late morning sunshine poured
  through the windows and he squinted his bloodshot eyes to block the light,
  even as his head pounded and his stomach churned. As he staggered toward the
  side bar, he searched for a pot of tea or, God willing, coffee, but found the
  area to be empty.
  
  A door opened behind him and Justin’s butler, Crenshaw, stepped into the room
  on nearly silent feet. “I apologize, sir, the breakfast dishes were cleared
  away an hour ago, but the kitchen would be happy to prepare you some eggs or
  anything else you desire.”
  
  Caleb sucked in a breath as nausea overwhelmed him. “God, no eggs,” he moaned
  as he took a seat at the table and rubbed his temples in an unsuccessful
  attempt to quell their throbbing. “And please do stop shouting, Crenshaw.”
  
  The butler’s eyebrow slowly arched, but he gave no other out