Joanna Gilman Hyde

"Good Morning, World!"

Month: January, 2013

DR WILLIAM HUNTER BLAIR

The Hawk West Desk Window 11:30am

There’s A Boy

in My Basement —

I saw Him standing on My Red Rug

holding a big brown Limited Edition

of Gulliver’s Travels

tucked under His Chin

with His Beguiling Look

He told Me It was His Favourite

of All His Books

EXPOSURE

The Tomato-coloured Couch 4:45pm

I could paint on the floor

on raw canvas

on the concrete floor of Hunter’s soon-to-be Library

& sell My Paintings

for $10,000 each

6:42pm

I’ve taken to making bread

kneading the dough with My Left Hand

holding the bowl with My Right

against a cushioned wrought-iron Ottoman

positioned between My Knees

like an Alewife

AUREOLE

The Hawk Kitchen 1:45pm

I have My Real Kitchen Witch now:

The Ceramic Head of My Dark Haired Woman

baked in High School Art Class

when Her Face fell off

Miss Hues helped Me fit Her Forehead, Chin

Right Eye & Cheek, Left Eye & Cheek

back together, glazed & glued

now to watch over Me

— halo hat intact —

above My Kitchen Corner Cupboard

as if Her Body is There contained

NO CLAMS TONIGHT

JB’s Barrington Passage 5:00pm

I waited all day

for My Check to come in

for $***,222.22

— there — It’s Public

& I waited —

in Barrington Passage

at The Royal Bank of Canada

— had coffee with a friend —

had to wait for Hunter with a sore knee

off work by 5:30pm

& whiled away the supper hour

@ JB’s with 2 Labatt’s Blues

a trio of Gays

broccoli bites, potato skins

& a big square of cranberry cake

LIL’ MISS

The Hawk Dining Room 10:38pm

Lil’ Miss Joanna Banana

carried Her Bunch of Bananas

to the front check-out at Sobey’s

but only One Line was open

& It was full

Lil’ Joanna Banana was in a hurry

so She thought of The Other Store

& put The Bunch back

(She thought of stealing a single banana for breakfast

but Lil’ Miss Joanna Banana was too honest)

She exited Sobey’s in Her 2004 Escape

& drove to Martin’s No Frills

where His Logo is a Bunch of Bananas

so Lil’ Joanna Banana picked out a bunch

(& One to eat in The Car)

She didn’t have to wait at the check-out

She clutched Her Bunch

against Her Dressy Knee-length Black Spring Coat

and walked along The Front

of The Yellow & Black

Store Front

THE APPLE SAUCE POEM

The West Desk Window 9:55pm

when I was a child

I had a fantasy

of getting locked inside

a grocery store

overnight

free to eat anything my heart desired

& do you know what I picked?

I picked apple sauce

DIRECTIONS

The Tomato-coloured Couch 6:33pm

How not to change lives & still sleep

in 3 easy steps:

1) Buy 22 Bars of Silver & lock Them in The Bank

2) Don’t buy a funny-shaped House on The Hawk

to rent to Kristine Zoodedoo

or Hunter’s Secretary

Who said She would move to The Hawk

like a tornado

3a) Don’t ask Your Daughter repeatedly

for Her Opinion on kitchen design features

3b) Eat left-over macaroni

& drink plenty of water out of the tap

of Your Tawdry Fridge

INCEPTION

The Hawk West Desk Window January 7th 10:55pm

The Swimming Pools of Dallas

shone like American Indian Turquoise Necklaces

strung around the kind of Suburbia

I would never see as clearly from the ground

as I could see from My Graduate’s Plane

taking Me across the Midlands of The US

to meet a man with whom I had barely corresponded

to find His Bed available

but attached by The String:

“You would be any man’s desire but

I’m saving My Self for Marriage”

CLOSURE

The Hawk West Desk Window 7:22pm

I was just about to phone My Father

when I remembered He’s dead

to tell Him I signed off today

on My Mother’s Island House —

both My Parents are dead —

My Father by eleven months

My Mother by twenty years

I am NOT alone

Oh, and My Brother was killed

in the interim

BUT I AM NOT ALONE

I have My House By The Sea

furnished with new flooring picked out

a devoted and hard-working Husband

(I may not be able to make Him retire)

My Daughter with Her College picked out

and Her Boyfriend I would marry

(which is what My Mother did to Me)

I am NOT alone

I have E.S.P.

 

CONSTRAINT

The Hawk Kitchen 5:55pm

You Were There

behind the mirrors

when I opened the medicine cabinet

to get some Gravol & one Tecta

for Hunter’s stomach

You know He has a hiatal hernia

which is interfering with His oesophagus

but You Were There

My Bathroom Black Jesus —

am I helping You?

am I helping Hunter?