The Hawk West Desk Window 3:00pm
I have two worn out Birks Boxes
for My Single Silver Pen
re-established in Its Domain
each time I finish
writing — oh like a body
underneath a coffin lid —
lay Me down in a tomb
marked for eternity
by Ever Stylish Artists
with Their Magic Implements
recoiling
from Their Brevity
I have made an addition to THE AGE OF 122
Your Writer,
Joanna
The Hawk Kitchen 9:43am
When I reach The Age of 122
and People ask Me What’s
My Secret?
I will tell Them:
“I have lived on a diet
high in fat, sugar and salt —
fat for My Blood
sugar for My Disposition
salt for My Tears —
I have had The Love
of A Big Black Cat
named Astropythicus
to soothe My Palpitating Heart
and I have lived
in the Land of My Dreams
where every day
I took to My Magic Pen
and wrote My Life
in Stars”
Joanna Gilman Hyde 