The Tomato-coloured Couch 3:20pm
Would I be unfair or inaccurate
not to include My Daughter
in this singularly female household
supported by One Man
& One Daughter’s Inheritance (that’s Me!)
living a life of leisure
& art —
am I being unfair
to My Self — afterall
I grocery shop
take out the trash
clean occasionally
& try to cook
The Hawk Deck 8:56am
The foggy dew
is still on the scrub spruce
in hues of grey and green
the waves are close
somatic
& I am fully here
ready to take in
The Day
The Tomato-coloured Couch 5:45pm
I Am Able To Set The Table
As I Am
Your Reason For Schizophrenia —
a played-out conundrum
I Am The Reason
The Intellect Behind
Child-like Frankness
I Am The Purpose
Behind Hallucinations
Sleep Deprivation
Voices From Afar
As I Am The Human Being
Capable Of Imagining
Any Vision, Any Dream
Capable Of Consuming
The Place Set
For Our Changing Minds
The Hawk Deck 1:22pm
This morning I took a walk
along The Barrington Bay Trail
on the far extension I passed
A Boy and His Father/Uncle
The Boy strode up to Me
asking if there is a difference between
plum sauce and sweet n’ sour —
I replied, “Not much — why
are You asking about sauces
so early in the morning?”
The Uncle/Father explained:
“He’s just been to McDonald’s”
The Tomato-coloured Couch 1:18pm
The Polish has been subdued a little
off My Sparkling Day —
I am inside with the cool wind out
The Radio is on
I am drinking copious quantities of water
from My Glass Marked “LIFE”
–
1:25pm
The World can reach into My Heart
& pull out all The Hope It Needs
to get Us through this rough time
this transition from Gold to Silver
Day to Night
Sun to Moon
West to East
Man to Woman
Yes, take It all —
It’s free, right here
My Hope Lives
Where I Live
The Hawk Deck 11:35am
I am not beyond writing
how good I feel
sitting in the sun
in the privacy of My Deck
I look to the ocean
for inspiration
& find all I need
within The Self I am today
— A Supreme Self
basking in the knowledge
of all things
coming to good
Ultimately
The Hawk Deck 10:06am
I Am Guarding My Ocean
I Am Watching For Birds
To Record Their Song
Accompanying Each Moment
Of Scenic Bliss
A Dog Barks, A Neighbour Calls
To Another
While I Sit
In My Red Deck Chair
Taking Stock
The Hawk Deck 9:17am
The Air Has Cleared Here
The Ocean Dazzles My Brain
I Am Up For The Morning
In What Feels Like Early Fall
I Am Leaving Behind
Every Past Anxiety
Looking Forward To The New Aerial View
Of This Planet
Upon Which
I Thankfully Reside
The Hawk West Desk Window 8:51pm
I had to line up at 9:00pm
for My “Meds”
with monotonous regularity
during My Confinement(s)
where My “Activity Level” was marked
“O” on a big white bulletin board
& all I could do to occupy My Self
was write in My Diary
never finish a jigsaw puzzle
& put up signs in My Room
stating “I Am The Figurative Christ”
& “I Am Starving (literally) for Somebody
Nobody Knows” — name spelled out on sign —
(They made Me take the signs down)
The Hawk Deck 7:30pm
Nothing will unhinge My Happiness
here —
no dying or dead parents
no deranged brother
no cloak of depression
only My Black Cat Astro
— if He were to die
I would be heart-broken:
My Happiness mauled to pieces
Joanna Gilman Hyde 