Joanna Gilman Hyde

Gully said “BACON”

sitting on His Rail

this morning —

His Command 2 Me

& Eye got IT

& so did He

August 5th, 2025

The Hawk Deck

8:26 am

Here Hear The Lull

of Surf:

an integral sound

along w/ Gulls’ distant clatter,

a Mourning Dove

& NO  Excavator

@ a neighbour’s property —

Oh there goes an electric saw blade

somewhere 2 the North —

w/ a hammer too

butt Eye accept these tones

as they are not consistent

w/ M(eye) Treasured Swoosh

of Sea’s Edge

undulating @ The Doorstep

of M(eye) Cranial Ear

August 2nd, 2025

The Hawk Kitchen Outpost

11:11 am

M(eye) Very Tame Gull

started out on Peanuts

thrown from The Deck

& graduated 2 saying “breakfast”

(“brrk brrk”)

for a Piece of Bacon

while standing on The Rail, His Rail —

now He preens

& washes His Big Yellow Beak

in The Recent White Bowl of Water

splashing around like a kid

& knocking on M(eye) Sliding Glass Door

Opened This Gorgeous Morning

2 Let Him Inside

(if He so chooses)

WITHOUT The Invitation of FOOD

August 2nd, 2025

The Hawk Kitchen Outpost

10:22 am

On This Graceful Morn

Eye have Re- placed

The Light-catching Ornament

of Your Symbolization*,

dangling from The Crystal Stopper

dangling from The X-Miss Star

hanging sequentially

from M(eye) East Kitchen Window

2 Spark M(eye) Eyes

W/ Its Coloured Glint

Riveting M(eye) Composure

*note:  ornament was removed for the umpteenth time again on the Morning of August 7th, 2025

August 2nd, 2025

The Hawk Deck

7:11 am

Eye Live & Love 2 sit in Starlight

emanating from Our Sun

out here on M(eye) Perfect Deck

hearing The Morning Surf

Up With The Gulls

(& Gully)

basking in sublime relaxation

under The Only Star That Matters

July 28th, 2025

The Hawk Kitchen

7:37 am

Gully has officially rejected

His Baked Beans for Breakfast

(albeit 12 years old)

in favour of His Old Standby

Dry Cat Food —

& He didn’t even eat

all of THAT

July 26th, 2025

Pine Grove Cemetery

Shelburne, NS

Eye just visited

M(eye) Brother’s Grave —

@ first Eye couldn’t find it —

low to the ground is the stone

etched w/ the first bar of Fur Elize

which Howard taught His Niece Eliza

about 25 years ago —

butt Time doesn’t matter

in  a cemetery —

only the two scraps of red fabric

apparently blown from somewhere else

& settled in to either side

marking His Territory

until Eye next arrive

July 25th, 2025

The Hawk Deck

12:43 pm

Gully eats His Baked Beans for Breakfast

tentatively

& would rather

hold out

for Chunks of Cheese

on The Rail

or Really Go Wild

for a Piece of Bacon —

Do Eye Know M(eye) Gull

or What?!

July 23rd, 2025

The Hawk Deck

9:11 am

He Stands Stately

Upon His Rail

Preening, He Was

In Relaxation Mode

While Eye Sit

In An Adirondack Chair

Admiring Him

From A Distance Of 6 Feet —

He’s Had His Baked Beans

For Breakfast —

His Six Chunks Of Cheese —

The Cats Are Lounging —

One Under M(eye) Chair

W/ A Black & White Paw

Extended —

The Air Is Still

W/ Songs Of Other Birds —

Oh, How Eye Love Birds!

& Gully Preens Some More,

Sliding His Perfect Beak

Along The Shaft Of One

Little White Puff

In Order 2 Let It

Set Free

2 Float 2 The Arm

Of M(eye) Writing Chair

NOTE: Poem titled Two Evening Dresses

first appears in my 677 page manuscript titled NO BONES ABOUT IT, written before the inception of this blog, prior to April 2012.  It is included here as reference for comparison to the following poem titled Two Dresses O’ mine

Two Evening Dresses

December 28th, 2009

The Shakespeare House

Shelburne, Nova Scotia

When I was 8 or 9

I went to Lord & Taylor’s

with My Mother & Granmama

to buy evening dresses

for My Mother’s Affair*

She chose a bubbling brown & gold chiffon

high-waisted

& a sleek black sleeveless

with silver accent trim

under the bust line

I was very happy for Her.

I never saw Those Dresses on My Mother —

They got put up in The Attic every summer

& after She died

The Black One fell apart

in a spray of black filaments

on the floor of Eliza’s bedroom closet

*the year-long affair w Bob Wilber,

jazz musician, who broke my mother’s heart twice when he got remarried to Joanne (Pug) Horton, seven years later.

Two Dresses O’ mine

July 19, 2025

The Hawk Deck

9:57 am

1 White (wedding)

1 Black (theatrical)

1 stored away in a basement garment bag

1 hanging in M(eye) Corner Room Closet

both costing originally $300.00 each —

The 1st: My off-white high-collared,

long-sleeved chiffon w/ floral hem

(hand-drawn prophetically in Jr. High)

worn for My Mother’s Show

2 Peter Lynn Haeghaert

38 years ago

stained now

w/ tiny brown specks

here & there

like The Baby’s Breath

I held

in The Wedding Portrait on M(eye) Fridge:

What Did That Wedding Mean 2 Me?

I do not remember eating The Cake

created by an artistic family of neighbours

in Jordan Bay —

I do not remember

feeling “Overwhelmed w/ Happiness” —

(perhaps I wasn’t)

I felt I was performing —

climbing into a rowboat

in “My Going Away” outfit

of green & white vertical striping

& red straw cap & pony tail —

married off 2 a capable gentleman

9 years My Senior —

2 be The Father

of M(eye) 2.4 Children —

Now 2 write of The Black Dress:

The Oprah Winfrey 50’s style —

full-skirted, elastic bodiced

3/4 sleeves

w/ silver buttons —

It was & is a dramatic dress

& Eye would wear It

dramatic upon The Tomato-coloured Couch

15 years ago

married 2 Dr Blair’s

ignorance…

These Two Dresses

are Opposites —

The 1st symbolizing

newness, freshness & innocence —

The 2nd symbolizing

daring, danger & mystery —

& Eye possess Both

Still —

right Gully?