Joanna Gilman Hyde

The Tomato-coloured Couch 9:45pm

I see You at the doors

to Sobey’s with Your Wife

I’m with My Husband —

I dodge across The Parking Lot

to The Cart Corral

with Its Yellow Sign:

In The Event Of An Emergency

Gather Here

I sit cross-legged on the pavement

below The Sign —

Do You Come Over To Me?

Does My Husband —

Or Does He Converse With Your Wife?

When & With Whom

Do I Lift My Arms

Up & Out To The Sides

As I Did In Your Presence On October 22, 1993

To Voice, Not For The First Time

I Am In A Spiritual Emergency?