(continued)
The stillness has me plastered
2 My Chair.
I can hear
a distant rooster
slight ringing in my ears
my sun hat brushing
the back of The Chair
Molly licking condensation
off the vinyl siding
out here on My Deck
in the sublimity of this rare morning.
8:24 am
Is that Gully over there
on Robert Ross’s Blue Roof
preening in this stillest of mornings?
Ozzy is inside
on the chair Astro died in
& I am situated
w no confines
drinking tea
which needs 2 be heated up.
August 30th, 2026
The Hawk Deck
7:45 am
There is no sound
of The Sea this morning.
Instead I hear Molly purring
a fly buzz
& as I contemplated writing,
a Jay squawked
across my vacant meadow.
August 25th, 2026
The Hawk Corner Room
5:50 pm
He was not just a man —
He was an idea —
Blown Up
into The Biggest Idea
ever created
within My Infinite Mind.
Falling short of concrete reality
He became My Spiritual Love
& perhaps still is
butt with a grain of salt
for good measure
as He remains solidly married
& I solidly single.
August 22nd, 2026
The Hawk Kitchen Outpost
10:22 am
Was I dressed appropriately @ 10 am
in black velvet for a memorial service
@ 2
2 walk past a dead Guinea Hen
in the middle of the road
here on The Hawk
as I exercised my arthritic hips
w walking sticks provided 2 me
last winter
by my kids?
August 14th, 2026
The Hawk Kitchen Outpost
5:03 pm
I stood too fat
in Pink Chiffon
trembling by a tree
I’ve never stood by since —
The Tree was sold —
Its House burned down —
My Life encapsulated up to then
by a whim that steered My Children
away from “Proper Marriage”
so that today I refer to “My Common Law
Daughter In Law”
& “My Common Law Son In Law”
hoping all parties concerned
are now better off
August 8th, 2026
Ottawa International Airport
2:50 pm
Mother & Son Graduation Photo
from Peak’s Army Course in Petawawa
was posted on Facebook
under His Mother’s Heading of Master Corporal
butt since Peak hasn’t been promoted YET
He got upset
so His Sister changed The Heading
during Our Last Family Meal
in Kingston, Ontario
overlooking The Speedboat Marina
over Peak’s Beef Tartine
& My Gingery Moscow Mule Mocktail
before We all walked along The Waterfront
for more drinks
& photos
& broke company
for The Graduate & Girlfriend Chantal
& Mother, me
2 head 2 Ottawa for 1 night:
in a nice hotel — The Lord Elgin —
We went 2 bed immediately
& after a good sleep
where We 3 woke right at 7
We ate superb Ukrainian scones
at a trendy cafe
& went 2 look at art
in The National Gallery.
2 Silver Spires graced The Sky
as We drove The Mother, me
2 Ottawa International Airport
while the pealing of bells
announced a wedding procession
from the steps of The Church.
As We passed along The Rideau Canal
The Mother, me
was heard 2 say
“1 day when I’m A Doddering Old Lady
I might live in a city like Ottawa.”
*voiced from behind my airplane seat
back 2 Halifax — by a young boy.
August 6th, 2026
Halifax Airport, NS
1:28 pm
I could write a song:
“Baby Bunny On The Highway”
“Baby Bunny On The Highway”
Back & Forth — Forth & Back —
“Baby Bunny On The Highway.”
August 3rd, 2026
The Hawk Kitchen Outpost
7:08 am
How many days has it been
that Gully has sailed in
for His Breakfast —
He’s been here for 9 years
from when I started
throwing peanuts 2 tame Him
from when I lured Him
2 My Hand
w scraps of bacon
until that glorious Morning
when He took a piece
right from My Fingers —
(I don’t remember how many years ago
I trained Him 2 say “Breakfast” —
“Brrk Brrk”
for His Treats of Bacon
until I began 2 feel guilty
for making Him “Speak”)
— 3,285?
July 31st, 2026
Yarmouth, NS
7:00 pm
In The Western Sun
of Tusket
I ate an icecream cone
costing 10 times
what it did
when I was a kid —
I chose Butter Pecan
& It dripped onto My Tongue
as I enjoyed thoroughly
every lick
July 29th, 2026
The Hawk Corner Room
9:03 am
Last Friday I dressed in Grey
2 select a Cat
from the SPCA
on Hardscratch Road
& found a Big Black Fluffy Feline
whose previous owners
had 2 give Him away
when they moved into an apartment
forbidding pets —
Now He’s Mine
not 2 take the place of Astro
(who never settled on My Bed) —
This Ozzy keeps me company
as My New Mascot should
& I love Him all the more
for being so good
Joanna Gilman Hyde 