Joanna Gilman Hyde

September 21st, 2016

The Hawk Queen Bed, Near Midnight

Was there ever really an age

of Innocence?

The Lumps of Years

hardly matter anymore —

was it when My Children

were Children?

was it when I was

knocked out every night

on ten milligrams of Olanzapine

not knowing in the morning

if I dreamed?

Today marks Week Fifteen

since I stopped It

at The Site of a Rainbow

and I was going to write

a letter to London, England

to a man I treasured

when I was three —

My Mother’s Lover —

He is old now

and wonders if He’s written

His Last Book —

He takes care of A Man

He Loves — Who has Alzheimer’s —

takes Him when The Man’s Institution

welcomes a break —

I was going to write

that on Week Fourteen

I bleached & bleached

the growing blackness off My Deck

to make It look like driftwood —

It came out looking like that anyway

and My Daughter was proud —

I was going to write

that I replaced the old gold handles

on My Kitchen Cabinets

with wrought-iron-looking ones

picked out by Eliza

and what else did I do today?

I prayed for a dog.

I cooked Day Six

of Our New Ketogenic Diet

resulting from Eliza’s visit

and I believe I am better

off for It — though

I wonder about sleep —

the low carbohydrate level tends to rev Me up

Eliza suggests warm milk

with one tablespoon of honey

at bed time —

should I sleep in Her Room

again?

The Next Morning:

The Hawk Deck 10:17am

I slept with Hunter

not before two o’clock in the morning

and woke with a dream

of being about to meet

The Daughter of The Man

EYE LOVE

I changed Eliza’s sheets —

Her Comforter is hanging out

on the line —

and I heard The Rooster

again

before I got up

to make The Coffee