The Scattered Crumbs
of Lemon Loaf Cake
brush off My Black Lap
like a speckling of stars
& down The Cleavage
of My Tattoo Sweater
like Those sucked inside
My Very Blackest Hole
INDUCTING THE BLACK SWAN
I have seen The Post Card
from Tommy of Mexico
wilted on My Daughter’s Mirror
across from Her Bed
where I first met
The Boyfriend of Currency
–
Today I do The Laundry
Dressed In Black:
Black Tank, Black Capris
with My Silver Necklace
& Silver Hoops
–
Hunter, My Practising Husband/Doctor
may not go to Work
tomorrow
and I may not
see a friend
I see The Luminescence
out My West Window
shining up The Water
clearing into Sky
“Away The Thunder of Today”
knowing, telling
All Is Well
Today I saw A Beautiful Thing:
–
The Orchestration of rain & web
patterning concentric circles
and radiating lines
against a rainy window
a perfect web of water only
disappearing not before
I saw It
–
and saw It’s return
with another Shower
I Live In Canada
where a friendly neighbour’s flag
lifts itself to My Side
of The Lawn
flanked by The Space
of Ocean Beyond
It’s The Flag I Use
for Determining Direction
of The Wind
for Gauging The Space
of My Life Before Me
here in This Sea Coast Town
of My Own Choosing
The Cats have lacerated
The Posts
on The Deck
but We don’t care
–It’s An Old Deck–
–no paint–
& We Love The Cats
& have no trees nearby
except for The Scrub Spruce
& That’s too far
for Half-a-Dozen Cats
dat De-Press-ion ain’t
gonna git Me agin
no matta how It come
lurkin’ around
–
It ain’t gonna stop Me
from doin’ de dishes
–
eatin’ Ma suppa
–
It ain’t gonna stop Me
from drivin’ wid Ma Baby Girl
out to La Creamy
Treat
in de settin’ sun
I remember lying in That February Sun
or was it March or April?
inadequate
with a step-sister who couldn’t help Me
no one could
I had abandoned My Self
to My Suffering
alleviated only by
bed-lying
couch-lying
& towel-lying on driveway stones
in the tepid sun
of 1997
Joanna Gilman Hyde 