HOUSES I HAVE WORKED ON

by Joanna Gilman Hyde

The Hawk Deck 7:20 pm

HOUSES I HAVE WORKED ON

If My Mother worked on a house

does that count for Me?

She rubbed lemon oil into My Father’s Furniture

before the move to McNutt Island

when I was a child–

I did re-paint My Bedroom there

before the arrival of My First Husband

Then He & I pregnant with Our First Born

built The Thoreau House–

the one-room post & beam

We wouldn’t sell for a million dollars

He & I fixed up The Shakespeare House

in Shelburne for My Mother–

She paid us–

& then We bought our own

with no electricity & no plumbing–

I put My Soul into that Atlantic House

if not My Heart

& then My Mother died

& My Days of House-fixing were over.

–

I had Eliza & an affair

with an adoring doctor–

My Second Husband now–

& The House He & I have on The Hawk

should be My Final Resting Place–

though I feel It may not be

despite all the trim here

I have painted:

Living Room, Dining Room

Family Room, Hallway

Balcony, Stairs

& Corner Room–

and all The Artwork I have hung