The Tomato-coloured Couch 3:41pm
I always said I never lived
with a broken heart,
but My Mother broke My Heart
when She died
twenty years ago,
but I lived
with My Broken Spirit
taken over by God —
God stepped in
— stepped on My Heart —
He made Me see a Shower of Lights
Which did not fill Me
with inner peace
I was restless
not sleeping
years on medication —
I’m still on it —
I cannot drink The Red Wine
of mirth
without sleep disturbance
I need My Sleep
My Peace Restored
The Hawk Family Room 7:00pm
My Elementary Art Teacher
Miss Fabian
was little & wore tight sweaters
Her Hair was Black
She wore Black Pants
& told Me Artists usually stand
to do Their work
I don’t remember My Intermediate Teacher
but I made a giant bobby pin
& won an art certificate
at the end of Sixth Grade
My High School Art Teachers
were Miss Cotterall, little & blond
Who taught Me the basics
of Jewellery Making —
Miss Hues —
She was dark-skinned
& I painted a water-colour portrait
of Her in a patch-work skirt —
Mr McDowell
was the Track Coach
Who later told Me He was proud
to have contributed in some small way
to My Success
The Hawk West Desk Window 10:11pm
In a dim-lit windowless room
of Planned Parenthood
I must have signed My Life
away —
I say Must
because I do not remember
The Signature —
I say Life
because It was
Mine
The Hawk Corner Room 4:34pm
I just watched 9 Canada Geese
flying North
past My Picture Window —
I’m such a novice birdwatcher
I could only tell They were Geese
by Their Long Necks
(at least I had the sense to count Them)
The Hawk Corner Room 4:00pm
My Childhood Easter Egg
with Its Cellophane Window
Its Interior Hills of Sugar & Paper Bunnies
has opened out in My Adult View
through My Eastern Picture Window
to encompass Our Frosty Shoreline
7 Little Houses
& a School Bus Threading
Its way through Roadside Scrub Spruce
The Hawk Corner Room 5:50pm
Olivia sprang from Her Cord
& headed for both neighbours
on one side of the road
& then the other
where She met The Woods
& Her Owner had to take off
in one maroon vehicle
in nebulous pursuit —
She’s not back yet
but I have to get My Supper —
The Hawk Corner Room 5:00pm
I Own The Perfect View:
180 Degrees, Panoramic
Lined With Ocean & Treetops & Sky
Rocky Shore, Extension of Rolling Surf —
It Is My Haven, My Refuge
I Can Sit Before My Aerial View
For Hours
& Not Wish I Were Anywhere Else
The Hawk West Desk Window 9:44pm
My Third Grade Class Trip
to The Statue of Liberty
involved climbing the interior
circular staircases
up to Her Crown
— or was it Her Arm?
seeing Humans below
looking like ants
as I wrote the next day
from My Changed Perspective
and did I write
that Miss Robley
gave Me a dime
to buy An Orange Popsicle?
The Hawk Corner Room 5:12pm
I have given up
on Black & Purple
— That Lethal Combination —
even when My Black Cat sits
beside a pair of Purple
UGG Boots by The Kitchen Door
I think of My Art School Satin Lips
& Black Fuzzy Bed
of Purple Phalli
I am no longer interested
in The Symbolism of The Night
of hidden passions
under cover of Darkness
I am in The Sedate
Components
of The Spectrum
Public Health Office, Barrington approx. 10:00am
I am no longer in league
with The Aliens
in Their Purple & Black
I wear White & Aqua now
Beige, Grey, Dark Brown
still have My Blue Jeans
& Linen Tops
All My Black Articles
have been tossed —
Eliza took Two Black Garbage Bags
to The Salvation Army
but was mad at Me
for throwing Them out —
Hunter understands
Joanna Gilman Hyde 