The Tomato-coloured Couch 3:02pm
I Have My Big Black Lion
At My Feet
And My Daughter’s Mane Of Gold
At My Fingertips
I Am Licking My Wounds
With A Salivating Tongue
And Garnering My Strength
For The Onslaught
Of The World
The Hawk West Desk Window 9:40pm
I stood in My Raspberry LLB Sippers from China
& Fuchsia Turtle-neck Sweater from Years Ago
to enunciate in front of My Bedded Husband
Three Fundamental Rules
For This Planet:
1. No Legalized Abortion
2. No Militarized Killing
3. No Capital Punishment
& asked One Question
for All of Us to Ask:
What Is The Value
of One Human Life?
The Hawk Corner Room NOON
Black Jesus Stands
In Her Vestment Of Liquid Silver
To Gaze Out Over
The Shimmering Sea
Of Our New Day
The Hawk West Desk Window 11:11pm
Black Jesus stood at Her Kitchen Sink
& looked down
into the slowly swirling soap film
on the surface of Her Casserole Dish
She was about to wash clean
She saw a collection of galaxies
swimming clock-wise
& right before Her EYEs
The Galaxies turned into Spermatozoa
& She decided not to wash
She left Her Station to eat A Piece Of Carrot Cake
& when She came back
She looked again —
Her Casserole contained
The Universe
The Hawk Queen Bed 10:45pm
God Bashed Me Over The Head
With The Shower Of Silver Lights
So That I Would Never Ever
Forget Him/Her/It/Them
ME!
The Hawk Corner Room 11:15am
Sitting in My Flannel Pyjamas
I can watch a Liquid Galaxy
glittering, sparkling, stretched long out
over The Atlantic
with a Mass of Stars as Its Center
and Diamond Iridescence out
over Its thinning Edges
The Tomato-coloured Recliner 4:30pm
Dear Bill N Lacy:
–
You know why I handed you all those pathetic love letters while I was a student at Cooper Union and you were President? I was youthfully in lust with you, no matter what the letters said, and you were correct never to have replied.
–
After I graduated, I gave you hand-knitted socks (not knitted by me) with a note for cold feet, and months later you said, “I still have those socks –”
–
I said, “Now you don’t need them –”
–
“Why?” you suddenly asked, and I sang out, “Because Now It’s Spring!”
–
(I was about to ask my children’s father to marry me.)
–
Two husbands later I am keeping up my record — this time for over twenty years — and the object of my attentions is a small leprechaun from Scotland with whom (I’ve told myself) I would travel to outer space.
–
I hope this letter finds you well.
–
Yours truly,
–
Joanna
The Hawk Kitchen 6:13pm
The Twigs Of The Scraggly Apple
Feel Their Way Up Toward The Eastern Blush
Of Sunset To My Back
The Top Branch Reaches A Cloud
— Fully Grey —
And Delineates My Future Comfort
In All Its Windy
Shivers
The Hawk Corner Room 10:22am
I Stood Naked
— as My Shower heated —
before The Corner Room Window
to lay My Eyes
upon The Sea
glistening Silver
in lateral streaks
to Cleanse Me
of My Jaded Spirit
Joanna Gilman Hyde 