Joanna Gilman Hyde

December 4th, 2025

The Tomato-coloured Couch

5:50 am

Eye wonder if Pappy knew

that someday Eye would inherit

His Rosewood Chair

carved in Birmingham, Alabama

by a one-eyed black man —

could Pappy have known

that in December of 2025

Eye would sit in M(eye) re-vamped Livingroom

looking @ the double-carved arm rests

thinking of The Game He played

of The Little Man

starting @ the top of The Roses

& walking down, finger by finger

2 stop @ the tips

of the concave arm rests

2 gaze around, 2 look —

finger by finger

for The Little Girl lying on the floor

@ Pappy’s feet

ecstatic in anticipation

waiting for The Little Man 2 fly

2 launch Himself off The Wooden Cliff

tickling Me as He Landed?

November 28th, 2025

The Hawk Kitchen Outpost

7:00 am

A Silver Light of Dawn

behind the overcast of sky

heralds the lobster fishing boats

spot-lighting M(eye) wide horizon

sweeping along the 180 degree arc

of Atlantic

like a strung-out necklace

of glinting orbs

dotting M(eye) view

of Brilliance

November 25, 2025

The Hawk Slipper Chair

5:26 am

Eye just took a spider

(a Daddy Long Legs really)

from a lower corner of M(eye) Hallway

& threw Him out

into The Darkness

into the moderate cold

in order 2 survive

(rather than smashing Him)

Butt will He survive —

jarred into a new existence

of outdoor living —

like Eliza’s New RCAF* Boyfriend

Who’s “training” in the woods of Winnipeg

in case He crashes?

*Royal Canadian Air Force

November 13, 2025

The Hawk Dining Room

7:50 am

2 write of mediocrity

even for a sunrise

seems fraught w/ the assurance

of mediocre writing —

too sparse was the salmon pink

its star — planet — clouded over —

no clouds were highlighted in gold

except for when the sun

eventually came up

behind the upper branches

of my neighbours’ one living tree

— leafless —

Eye did however catch the sun’s glimmer

as Eye sat outside 2 watch that morning phenomenon

w/ my cup of — you guessed it —

tepid tea

November 9th, 2025

The Hawk Kitchen Outpost

6:00 am

Eye prefer not 2 delve

into “Mysteries of The Universe” —

if Eye see a planet

Eye don’t really care

which one it’s named.

Eye do not care about

commets or asteroids

(or galaxies for that matter) —

Eye prefer instead

2 stick closer 2 Home —

2 be enthralled by The Sea

My Accented* Sunrises —

My daily placement here

on This Planet Eye Love.

*This morning I watched intently as the horizon went from deep orange to a light gold & there was a star — really a planet — which I focussed on for the duration, until it finally disappeared just before My Pot of Gold rose from its deepest of blue.

November 8th, 2025

The Hawk Utility Room

5:25 am

Yesterday Eye attended

The Funeral of A Mother

Eye had never met

& listened to the proper bravery

of One Son (Eye had never met)

standing at The Podium

where “The Old Rugged Cross”

was sung out

by The Forthright Voice

of The Man Eye know only

as Our No Frills Produce Manager —

an Officiating Gentleman

spoke of None of Us

being free from SIN

& had Us pray

for The Mother’s Commital.

The Coffin was black

w/ hammered silvery adornments

enthroned by a floral spread of blue & white —

She had Died At Home

as was Her Wish.

Outside, beside the hearse

Her Other Son, My Neighbour

kindly commanded Me

to give Him a “squeeze”

(a bear hug for He is big & bearded)

& Eye could not even ask Him

if He had found My Card

placed on a windshield

(as soon as Eye found out) —

Eye could not utter a single word

while He pronounced

w/ Me in His Arms:

“I hope You are well —

I really do…”

*There loped A Dog of White in the parking lot of milling mourners, the sight of which inspired this poem.

November 3rd, 2025

The Hawk Kitchen Outpost

6:25 am

From My Hawk Kitchen Outpost

Eastern Window

cleaned after the weekend remains

of Hurricane Melissa —

Eye can see the full spread

of Early Dawn:

1st The Little Lights

of one neighbour

(whom Eye haven’t met yet)

down by the shore —

then The Little Twinkle

of a planet

(Eye don’t even know which one)

& when its light is obscured

by the fringe of a grey cloud

Eye can have the orange glow

(more 2 The North)

of “Twilight’s First Gleaming”

heralded by a huge splatter

of spread-out cloud

padded pink

above the silhouetted line of scrub spruce

laid against My Swath of Sea

(also obscured)

October 31st, 2025

The Hawk Green Chair

12:30 pm

My Emblem of Grief —

My Giant Black Cat

“ASTROPITHICUS”

is buried in Port Clyde

@ My Kids’ Grandparents’ House

now sold —

He was marked only by a White Star

on His Chest

& now by several unremarkable stones

laid by Eliza

amongst dry brush

@ the edge of the high ground

overlooking The Clyde River Shore —

The Anniversary of His Death

came this year

unnoticed by me

until It had passed

by several days —

October 13th, 2022

when Astro had a morning spasm

as He lay for the last time

on the lime-green cushion

of My Grandmother’s Wrought Iron Chair

stationed @ My Hawk Kitchen Outpost —

Eye remember My Green-eyed Pet

w/ all my endless fondness

held for Him alone

& no matter whether Eye visit His Bones

devoid of The Big Black Stone

planned butt not placed

on His Grave no longer owned

always will Eye remember

ASTROPITHICUS:

The Biggest Black Panther —

The Biggest, Hugest, Sleekest

Most Beautifulest Black Panther

In The Whole Wide World ––

2 Come Out of The Wilds of The Hawk —

W/ The Cute Lil’ Vampire Toofies!

October 22nd, 2025

The Tomato-coloured Couch

2:35 pm

This Morning Sometime

Eye watched M(eye) Neighbour’s Yard

fill 2 the brim

w/ countless Starlings —

Their Brown & Black

flitting around as They pecked

the grass & cut-off rough stuff —

& as Eye watched Their Full Embrace

some, a percentage,

made Their way 2 M(eye) Yard

& Eye delighted in Their Attraction

pecking hardily

for whatever Eye had 2 offer

until They swooped up —

one after the other —

2 the electric lines

perching momentarily

& then suddenly cloud-like

The Whole of M(eye) Starling Flock

spread Itself so gracefully

engulfing the expanse of M(eye) Rooftop

over

& back

in bulbous formation

above neighbouring rooftops

until They vanished

somewhere below

October 15th, 2025

The Hawk Front Portico

12:15 pm

Oh Happy Birthday!!

Eye am Living

for M(eye) Precious Gubba Goo

born 31 years ago

@ 9:04 pm

lifted out of an inflatable tub

@ The Queens General Hospital

Liverpool, Nova Scotia

blonde & happy

(& looking like M(eye) Aunt Angie*)

Treasured by Her Father

Adored by Her Brother

Created by Her Mother

2 B The Woman Who Could Do Anything

(butt She had 2 B Beautiful)

& She Came Out 2 A Tee!!

*The Late Angie Hyde Bjorklund, Santa Barbara, California — my father Francy’s older sister & 2nd daughter to Bobby Hyde