The Tomato-coloured Couch 2:37pm
God is sitting above
a sky-black plate
eating Her bagel sandwich
dropping an array of crumbs
on the outcropping
of The Cosmos
The Hawk Portico 6:00pm
I have shed The Cloak
of Both My Parents
and That Which I shared with My Brother
Who would have been 51 today*
–
I am The Sole Survivor
of That Family
The Family I was born headlong into —
My “Old” Family —
as I have wrapped My Self anew
within Hunter, My Grown Children
and 7 Cats
*My brother Howard Talbot Walden Hyde was killed November 22, 2007, while in custody. His death prompted the three-year Hyde Inquiry which found his death to be accidental due to restraint by jail guards — namely one Henwood.
The Hawk Portico 2:00pm
I have the luxury of gazing
out over the azure blue
of The Atlantic Ocean
of listening to The Gulls and Crows
for Whom I must be some small part
of Their World
as They are such a large part
of Mine
The Hawk Deck 9:57am
Were I to lose My Eyesight
could I still see The Patches Of Colour
The Sparkly Lights
I’m free to see now
whenever I close My Eyes
or would I be immersed in Pitch Blackness
& what does Pitch Black really look like?
The Tomato-coloured Couch 2:22pm
On My Way To The Mail Box
I Passed A Roadside Spread Of Asters
Pale Lavender Star-shapes Against The Golden Grass
And Auburn Leaves Of Fern — There Was No Mail
But As You Can Guess
That Hardly Matters
The Hawk Deck 11:10am
The Day On The Deck
Is So Still
I Can Hear The Echo
Of The Crow’s Call
Harsh, Yet Circular
Rising In A Crows’ Chorus
From The Scrub Spruce Nearby
Here Beside Me
Perhaps A Buzz Flies
The Tomato-coloured Couch 2:22pm
Once I wore black
for My Favourite Psychiatrist
Jesus Black — black velour sling pants
black push-up bra
briefly hidden by a golden tee
which said “Trust In The Lloyd”
My FP asked if I had made the slogan
I told Him, “No, it came from a movie”
and tore off The Tee
as I sat on an unforgiving mattress
on the floor
of The TQ Room — not a room — an unforgiving space
euphemistically named The Therapeutic Quiet Room
— My hair was longer then
blonder
I might have looked wild —
My Tall Psychiatrist
stood above Me
and looked at the ceiling
and said what I presume
was a prayer
I don’t even know
why He was in there
and I certainly do not know why I was
Note: related passage in The Script
The Hawk Deck 11:22am
That same spot of Ocean
where I saw The Sun come up
this morning
is vacant now
beyond the scrub spruce —
I cling to It
as one might a heavenly body
in twilight
& perhaps even
say a wish
The Hawk West Desk Window 7:12pm
I painted once
a watercolour sunset
& wrote on the back
“This could be a cover
for The New Yorker”
I gave it to My First Husband
Who put it in His Parents’ attic
Yet tonight I saw My Painting
in real life
out My West Desk Window
in the sky beyond The Cape
edged below by the silhouetted dunes
bathed above by the astonishing pink
I had tried to capture
The Hawk West Desk Window 7:38am
A Teenager’s Lament to His Mother:
“You had Me believe in Santa Claus
You had Me believe in The Easter Bunny
Now You ask Me to believe in God?”
Joanna Gilman Hyde 