May 18, 2025
The Tomato-coloured Couch
11:00 pm
Mexico has M(eye) Daughter —
She’s in love w/ a Mayan Man
& Her Dog Conchita —
THE IDEAL DOG —
a foundling so
Eye call M(eye) Self “Grammy” —
Well, in a very old cardboard box
removed from The Attic of Peter’s Parents’
Eye found Prized Possessions
thought long ago 2 be gone forever:
The Candlestick Lady —
the porcelain Statue
missing one hand
from M(eye) Great Grandmother
on M(eye) Mother’s Side
& M(eye) 1st Art Award
bestowed by Nyack Public Schools
June 21st, 1973
framed by M(eye) Grandfather
in Black & Gold —
These 2 Precious Sentimentalities
were accompanied by
The Wooden Boat Model
of M(eye) Grandfather’s punt WYNKEN
complete w/ miniature oars, painter,
oarlocks made of fashioned wire.
THEN in that same forlorn box
Eye found an object
from M(eye) Very Early Childhood
for which Eye had no recollection
of how It came 2 be here in Nova Scotia —
M(eye) Last Living Memory
of Its Glassed-in Encasement
of ancient paper flowers
surrounding the now faceless figure
of a Little Doll-like Apparition
was The Memory of Its Shadowbox
perched on top of a cupboard
in M(eye) Father’s Cousin’s dining room
for Me at 3 in Awe
looking at a tiny glass household
containing shreds of coloured mylar
captivating M(eye) Eyes
w/ Its Glinting Mystery…
— as an adult
Eye assumed It had come from Italy
a relic of M(eye) Great Grandfather Tonetti
& thought It to be only a sacred memory
— butt NO — now 60 Years Later
Eye suddely possessed
M(eye) Cherished Childhood
& looked underneath
Its darkened tin casing
2 read The Imprint
M-E-X-I-C-O
Joanna Gilman Hyde 