Joanna Gilman Hyde

Eye stepped into a pack of Humanity

The Final Product

of the slaying of pigs and chickens:

Food Fest in Yarmouth

where Eye wore hand-embroidered roses

from Mexico given to me

by My Daughter

and My Famous Straw Hat

with bow of black

to spend $21.00

on one chicken leg

one partial rack of ribs

from the bank of BBQ carriages

Eye picked “Billy Bones”

to stand in a haphazard line-up

where one man sourly glanced

but later sat between two women

while Eye sat at another long white table

to partake of my purchase

and then walked around

and around again

and decided to take my chewed bones

home.

It’s been an eternity —

Eye would have said Trillions of Years

butt Eye don’t believe in years —

since We last spoke.

Today Eye emailed M(eye) Book

So Long Sam

off 2 publisher #4

& if It’s not taken

It will be Self Published.

Did You know Eye never

had a shoulder 2 cry on

except for once

when M(eye) Brother Howard

was lowered into His Grave

& Eye stood wailing

against The Right Side

of M(eye) Father’s Brown Coat

on a late November day in 2007

Lime green ferns against

the blackened forest floor rise

like samples of new

Eye am so beautiful

that men young & old

masturbate at the drop of M(Eye) Hat

at the click of M(Eye) Digital Device

and Eye am left with nothing

not even a breakfast

Last weekend while the largest wildfire

in Nova Scotia’s history

raged and was successfully fought

Eye evacuated to My Friend Dan’s:

He took Me to an almost empty playground

built by a dentist

against the side of a hill

rising from The French Shore.

Dan spoke in Acadian

to one mother with one little boy

on a swing

as Eye meandered to leave.

Then from the top of the hill

a cascade of Children — 2 bus loads —

suddenly flowed down

and around playhouses

toy steel excavators

through rope tunnels

over one stationary boat

inside the ball tent

and through one giant tubular slide —

” Laissez le bon temps rouler!”

Eye walked along that vacant beach

hand in hand with my friend Dan

who stooped to reach

a piece of glass

and wiped the sand

and made His Speech:

He spoke of edges

sharp and neat

smoothed by waves

of eon’s seas

& gave the glass

to me to put

inside the pocket

of His Jacket

worn by me

worn by me

This morning’s hazy sun

inspired me to bring out the glass table top

to clean it with fake Windex

and fit it onto my forest green

wrought iron table

left for the winter to rust

(slightly)

Eye had my breakfast here

sitting on a folding chair

from the basement

while my next door neighbour

put away his lobster traps

and the morning birds

serenaded us

Tonight Eye visited

Astro’s grave

in Port Clyde

and adjusted one rock

and stood and thought

of how Eye miss Him

yet remain unaffected

Eye am 62 now —

not a magic number

butt Eye have lived

30 years beyond My Mother’s Death

beyond The Shower of Silver Lights

and beyond, & with

M(Eye) Divine Attachment.

Eye have yet to be with Him

The Object of M(Eye) Love

in the confines of Our Privacy

though Publically Eye will go

heralding Our Union

as Eye see fit

and broadcasting Our Faith

not in Oneness

butt inside Our New Divinity:

The FEMALE Lord & Master

with Her unfailing Side Kick

Eye walked briskly past

The Security Desk

into Saltwire News

dressed in the orange dress

(last worn with Dr Blair)

and my white toeless pumps —

Nobody stopped me.

Eye found Haylea Dilnot-Reid’s office

whereupon she tried to hand me

$15 — a five & a ten Canadian

& Eye said, repeatedly, what’s this for

some kind of pay off?

She had a sink

inwhich Eye tried to throw the bills

butt they stuck to my right hand.

Eye deposited them anyway —

demanding the name of Saltwire’s director

Him/Her or It —

Eye found my gold hand bag riffled through

money wasn’t missing butt was crumpled.

Next Eye was in Donald Trump’s office

& tried to shake hands

with a black-haired guy named Howard Dunn

butt he took my whole hand

& squooshed it & Eye tried

to get my hand free

to shake his hand properly.

Donald Trump wondered

what that was all about.

(Eye had said Eye would remember

Howard Dunn’s name because

it was my brother’s)

Eye sat across from Mr Trump

at his desk

next to a snotty blonde woman

who was folding linen napkins

& complained that my lipstick

would get on the napkin

so Eye told her to fuck off —

that Eye would find another seat

which Eye did, in front of the window

on an old-fashioned upholstered high chair

which Eye practically laid on

thinking: oh this is nice, Im by the window

& asked Donald Trump

whom Eye addressed as Doug

& said, “Oh sorry, I got your name wrong “

Eye asked him if Howard Dunn

was related to Patt Dunn

Minister of Community, Culture, Tourism and Heritage

Donald asked another man

to look that up —

there were a lot of people in the office

& Eye asked , “What are we all doing here

having a party?”

Mrs Trump, dressed in a white pant suit

was there too

now sort of on top of me

as Eye asked her about a puzzle

she had made of her husband’s face

& repeatedly asked her

had she done the puzzle

had she put it together

& Eye was running my fingertips

over the puzzle

which was above me

with Mrs Trump on top of me

rocking back and forth

as if she was humping me.