The Hawk Kitchen Outpost 4:25pm
What happened to that
strident parader
with Her Raucous Laughter
& clapping hands
posing artiface
in Her Husband’s Face
calling up a game of chance
a guessing game
neither wanted to play?
What happened to Her High Blood Pressure
measured every half hour
four hours straight
to be knocked down
the next day spent
in Her Grey Bathrobe?
The Hawk Kitchen Outpost 11:07am
M(EYE) Shirt Says
GOLD IS
THE NEW BLACK
My Underpants
are Warm Silver
My Socks are old
& White —
My Sneakers are adidas
Purple
All for My Final Mud Season Madness
Challenge Row
for Concept 2:
25 Consecutive Days
@ Ten Thousand Metres
a Day
The Hawk Kitchen Outpost 8:30am
When The Signing of My World Trade Center Painting
was to be on the news in New York
Channel 11, WPIX @ 11 o’clock
I was to watch It
in My Eagerness
with two friends
in someone’s loft apartment
but by the time It aired
one friend had gone
to the bathroom
& the other had gone
out for cigarettes
The Hawk Queen Bed 12:45am
Against The Backdrop of Africa
I stood to walk in a circle
of Black Women
reaching out to Me
— They had never seen a white baby
before —
& against the backdrop of fishermen
I clomped in My Black Fisherman’s Boots
up the pavement
of The Sandy Point Fish Wharf
to drive My Mother’s parked
VW Square Back
back down to the Molly already unloaded —
the men had never seen
a girl from New York
arriving each summer
departing for school in the fall —
against the backdrop
of art school intellectualism
I stood out for My Big Ideas
going after The Top
falling in love
with The President of Cooper Union —
& marrying instead My Ticket
to Nova Scotia — having My 2.4
Children
with .4 ending up depicted
as a 3D red blotch
hanging in My Hawk Living Room
& now married to The Famous Dr Blair —
against the backdrop of Cape Sable Island
on the most southern tip of Atlantic Canada
I have become The Famous Artist
living in Nova Scotia —
a fish out of water
in Her Element
The Hawk Kitchen Outpost 1:45pm
I’ve done enough
of sweeping up galaxies —
it’s an endless task
organizing, compiling known particles
of cat hair, cat food crumbs
specks of kitty litter, the occasional claw point
not to mention Heaven’s Dust
heavy in My House —
“Out Damn Spot!”
The Tomato-coloured Couch 7:02pm
I stood tonight
in The Little Store
waiting for My Medium Pizza —
extra cheese, pepperoni, tomatoes, hot peppers, black olives
and cradled in My Right Arm
a 2-litre bottle of Coke
with Santa still on it —
total bill on Visa:
$22.80 Canadian
The Hawk West Desk Window 9:55am
Before The Dawn
Of Our New Era
We Are On The Cusp of Night
We Are Silver Now
As The Moon
As The Midnight Hour
Of Transformation
From The Golden Sun
Into That Precious Rarity:
Our Star-patterned
Future
Barrington Passage, NS 3:30pm
EYE have a piece
of The Night Sky
on My Right Middle Finger
My Trigger Finger
with The Silver Emblem
of a curve-sided diamond —
EYE am out
to make the sturdiness
of M(EYE) Self
Timeless
The Hawk Kitchen Outpost 1:10pm
I am seeing stars
for thoughts —
first a red one
telling Me to take My General Mills Letter
off the refrigerator —
then a silver one
in The TV Room
when I wondered
about My Bullet-proof Vest
But Oh! I cannot be wearing
My Black Bullet-proof Vest
around the house
as a fashion accessory
to go with My New Ring
(which I still don’t have!)
The Hawk Queen Bed 8:55pm
I have looked up
to see Orion
I have looked down
to see My Toes
painted Nordic Lights —
Tomorrow I get My Ring —
My Ring of Fire
bought with My Own Money
for I am That Child
Who must have Her Toys
& begs to be shown off
against Our Backdrop
of Disaster
Joanna Gilman Hyde 