The Tomato-coloured Couch 9:45pm
I see You at the doors
to Sobey’s with Your Wife
I’m with My Husband —
I dodge across The Parking Lot
to The Cart Corral
with Its Yellow Sign:
In The Event Of An Emergency
Gather Here
I sit cross-legged on the pavement
below The Sign —
Do You Come Over To Me?
Does My Husband —
Or Does He Converse With Your Wife?
When & With Whom
Do I Lift My Arms
Up & Out To The Sides
As I Did In Your Presence On October 22, 1993
To Voice, Not For The First Time
I Am In A Spiritual Emergency?
The Tomato-coloured Couch 5:00pm
I Am Black Jesus
I Am Red, Yellow, Brown, White
Purple Is The Colour
Of My Massive Heart
My Hair Is A Rainbow
I Wear No Clothes
But Unlike The Emperor
I Know That I Am
Naked
The Tomato-coloured Couch 8:35pm
Tonight I bit into
The Meaning Of Life
It was Crispy Cookie
on The Outside
with Chocolate Chunks
& Chocolate Ice Cream
in The Middle —
I took several savoury bites
as I did when It was first served
to Me
in The Dark of March 31st, 1993 —
I crunched The Chocolate
& The Ice Cream melted
on My Tongue
I swallowed My Last Swallow
& then It was gone
The Hawk Queen Bed 9:40pm
This Book Is Black
and I am waiting to be born
out of The Murky Red
into The Light
afforded All Of Humanity
allowed to live
–
This Book Is Black
and I will come out
to Speak My Name
and be caressed
not by The Hand Of God
but by The Human Hand
of My Mother
–
This Book Is Black
and I will grow
to protect My Spirit
and when I die
I will be born again
into The Space
occupied by the width
and breadth
of My Mind
It Will Be Bright
My Future Will Be
Forever Bright
The Hawk Queen Bed 10:22pm
I Am The Black Ball
nesting under
Yards & Yards of White Satin
lined with feather boa
for an art school project
thirty-two years ago
–
I Am The Black Pearl
making People feel uncomfortable
like The Grit
inside an orgasmic oyster
lined with Phosphorescence
–
I Am The Black Jesus
in a White World of Innocence
here to make People understand
Their True Beginnings
of Sperm & Egg
& how They, We, have arrived
at Our Present Global Form
–
I Am The Blanket Of Night
with The Moon Glowing
underneath
echoing The Face of Humanity
for All of Us
to see Our Selves
with Newly Opened Eyes
The Hawk Window Seat 6:30pm
I Am On Top Of The World
I Stand Tall
For My Humanity
For That Is All
I Am
That I Know Of
For Sure
For Sure There Is God
Because
I Have A Human Mind
The Hawk Queen Bed 10:22pm
What Is The Configuration
Of The Universe?
Is It Like A Balloon
With Us On The Surface
Or Is It A Sphere
Internally Filled —
Perhaps Expanding & Contracting?
Is It A Spiral
Lashing Out
Or A Doughnut
With No Center —
Is It A Drop Of Pond Scum
Or An Entire Sea
Floating In Our Minds?
Joanna Gilman Hyde 