Remember when Eye created
The Food Mosaic
on your kitchen table
in Barrington?
You got mad at me
and I said, “You sound old –”
but you took a picture
you didn’t keep
& Eye strew your papers
along the trail
Above Her Title
The Creative Genius Stands
Beyond Her Profanity
Eye have in my possession
the implement of destruction:
the blue and white iron
belonging to My First Husband
wielded by His Former Live-in Girlfriend
a dancer
to whack Him on His Hip
while hot
to leave a permanent scar
of polka dots
and The Man’s Story
of “Bad PMS”
Eye asked my husband
if I was a creative
genius — he said “No.”
My Paintings are loose
dripping like punctured abcess
colours even fall
I never did like
the way he wangled his dick
along the stair case
I
He used to say:
“I love Your Toes –”
and didn’t know why
so nobody knows
II
He once wrote:
“I love You to distraction –”
It came at a time
when I was a fraction
of My Former Self
at His Behest
when We were installed
as His Daughter’s Guests
III
Her voice rang clear
the morning We left:
“You don’t give a fuck
about your grandchildren — ”
and so goes My Quest
for compensation regarding My Past
twenty years of seclusion by Him —
He Who assured Me
He never would fail
to deliver support
if I fell off The Rail
which I did once or twice
(but not into His Arms)
though I stayed as His Wife
and buttered His Charms
IV
It’s over now —
I’m cutting My Loss
of One Child’s Silence
I am willing to toss
to remain in My Stead
I ask to be free
of The Bonds of This Marriage
strung on The Cross
What did Dr Blair
hope to achieve by holding
me down for so long?
Eye am forever Lolita
in M(eye) Little Black
Pleated Skirt
in the back of His Black
On Black Mob Car
driving Me to His Cheap Hotel
for a night
of intrigue
& Korean food
put M(eye) HEX
on M(eye) EX
on M(eye) BED
Y Give $EX Away?
Joanna Gilman Hyde 