The Tomato-coloured Couch 6:41pm
I’m not trapped by Black
— that’s Black Jesus —
I’ve thrown away all
My Black Clothes
& I’m in Grey now
I still write in books with Black Covers
& The Black Ink comes leaking through
making Me sit up straight
legs crossed
Right Hand
adroitly holding
My Onyx Pen
tipped in Silver
The Tomato-coloured Couch 5:22pm
Mrs Blair sits in Her Hawk Living Room
furnished sedately but for
a staircase painted red —
She ponders the significance
of Humanity
and wonders if the music on Coffee House
is telling Her things
She should pay attention to
–
seltzer sits fizzing in Her LIFE Glass
on the glass coffee table
and She’s about to eat
some leftover pasta salad
before contemplating
Her next
3 seconds
The Tomato-coloured Couch 3:15pm
Dr Blair’s Wife dressed in grey slacks
dark grey sweater with gold zipper
rings upon Her Fingers
LL Bean upon Her Toes
drove Her nearly new Ford Fusion
to The Little Coastal Store
on Cape Island
to buy six packs of cat treats
for seven cats
two pork chops
two lesser cuts of red meat
to listen to Fatboy Slim’s
on the way
Home
The Hawk Living Room 1:53pm
Dressed in My Robe
of Luminous Silver
with My Little Raspberry Slippers
I am The Lady Of Immense Leisure
and This High Living Room
where I reside in The Sun
is My New Rooftop
The Tomato-coloured Couch 5:50pm
I’m having a flash-back
back to when I was in
My Mother’s Womb — I knew then
I’d be a stocky blond
in red sneakers & a white gym suit
on The Roof of # 5 World Trade Center
& grow up to marry well
twice-over —
I knew then I would harbour
within the duration of My Existence
a pulling enticement
which when met
would give birth
to the ultimate contraction
between
young & old
&
I would live & die
in
one
moment
The Hawk Kitchen 2:59pm
an immobilized fly
knows no secrets
adhering, somehow, to the outside
of My Living Room Window
— I thought He was a spy —
when I wanted to write
“What Do I Most
Want To Say –“
and for Whom?
“For My Self”
— I saw He had died —
January 30th, The Tomato-coloured Couch 1:28pm
I Am A Woman
For Whom Future Is Now, Now
Past Now Is Now Dredged
The Hawk Queen Bed 9:25pm
How Many People
Hear The Twenty-two-second
Fog Horn Interval?
The Hawk Queen Bed 9:25pm
How Many People
Get To Sleep Under The Flash
Of A Lighthouse Near?
The Tomato-coloured Couch 5:04pm
Every Instance of My Life
Every Moment before I was conceived
has added up to where I am
right now, in this New Moment
writing in the dusk of My Favourite Living Room
on A Piece of Land I own
on An Island where I feel welcome
in A County I have traversed
in A Province I favour
in A Country where I am proud to be A Citizen
on A Continent which identifies Me
on A Planet I Love
and will Love
until I die
Joanna Gilman Hyde 