The Hawk Exercise Room: 10:11am
EYE catch The Sun
in My Foetal Pulsating Fingers
as I hold up My Left Leg backwards
My Right Hand comes forward
illuminated and red
The Hawk Kitchen Outpost 7:36am
The Sun has risen
much further North
than I expected
& I am to execute
a sculpture of Hunter’s closest friend
whose eyes are up & open
to the surprise of his
final moment
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
The Hawk Living Room 4:30pm
A new arrangement of paintings
builds a triangle upon My Living Room Wall:
My Mother’s Portrait as a very young woman
painted by My Uncle
dresses the wall below My Balcony
hanging in the middle
above two impressionist paintings
of Africa — She took Me
as an infant to grow there
in Gabon and came home
with these two paintings
I framed in art school —
one showing a grass-roofed hut
palm trees with seated figure —
the other showing four bark canoes
and two figures readying them
in the foreground of open water
and open sky —
My First Year In Africa
She called The Worst Year
of Her Life — spent insomniac
underweight, pregnant
with My Fated Brother —
Africa inspired Her Novel
NOT EVEN THE MOON
never published —
Her Portrait looks down
to those two African paintings
and I look up to all three
The Hawk Kitchen Outpost 4:30pm
Today I watched The Beautiful Cashier
get out of Her Car
at The Little Store where She works
for a longer stretch than other
pretty girls — this One is magnificent:
an alabaster face
set with well-formed eyes
graced by a distinctive nose
She wears Her Hair loose over one shoulder
sporting Her High School Sweater
She beautifies Her Station
of lottery tickets
& vegetable scale
doing Her Job with a shy appearance
making You shy too
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
The Hawk Dining Room 6:57am
I got up to let out
a cat
& saw My Painting
in the sky —
I saw the orange and purple
laid out before Me
stretched along the horizon
& I am filled with a knowing
happiness
as I see the pink turn
to gold
& the ball of licking light
rise
Joanna Gilman Hyde 