The Hawk Deck 11:15am
The Birds of My Childhood —
I have Them All Here:
The Back Woods Jay Squawk
of Valley Cottage
The Low Brush Cheep
of The Chick-a-dee-dee-dee
The Harsh Cawing of The Morning Crow
on McNutt’s Island
The Hearkening Bleat
of The Summer Willet
from My Old Jordan Bay
–
These places I will never see again
but They Call to Me Still
The Hawk West Desk Window 9:42
The Moon lived with Me
for a short while
from The Time Of My Conception
to The Time Of My Death
It stood behind Me
as A Halo Of Silver
and I lived with My Shadow
where ever I went
The Hawk Portico 4:15pm
Silver is not a barbaric relic
as Gold has been called
Silver as a standard of measurement
is tried & true
I may be worth millions
in a very short time
as I have bought into
The Sterling Which Fell On My Head
at a specific date
one sunny afternoon
over twenty years ago
& Which has been incubating
ever since
The Hawk Corner Room 1:05pm
I take care of A Doctor:
I bring Him His Coffee
upon waking
I wash His Silver Hair
@ 8:00
I bring His Cereal
to The Computer
I kiss Him
upon leaving
–
When He’s home sick
I take The Phone out of The Bedroom
I feed The Cats
I station My Self in The House
or out on The Deck in fair weather
to check on Him
to see if He’s still asleep
or if He wants Anything
The Hawk Portico 9:22am
I am The Director Of My Universe
Oh, I am influenced
by outside factors
but deep inside Me
ultimately
I am My Own Guide
The Hawk Dining Room 7:28pm
The Moon rose at supper
like a humanoid zygote
passing first through a layer of peach —
as the peach got pinker and pinker
The Moon got higher and higher —
Its fullness minus a day
glowed Its luminous face
to the solid bank of ocean
and to The Earthlings at Their Window
The Hawk Deck 9:03am
This has been The Place
of My Full Recovery
from My Mother’s Death
of more than Twenty Years
This is The Place of My Happiness and Joy
with Molten Silver on The Sea
Bird Life, Cat Life
My Life and My Husband’s
–
The Hawk Living Room Window 4:43pm
My Serenity Level
cannot be measured
there is no equipment
like The Blood Sugar Thing
there is only The Sun
streaming in over Me
as I sit on the end
of The Tomato-coloured Couch
with The Window open
airing in The Waves
from The Southern Tip
of The Hawk
The Hawk Kitchen 8:45am
How can I be depressed, even slightly
in My Beautiful Kitchen
with The Sun beaming in
& My Husband staying home from work
to be with Me?
–
9:40am
I have on My Thick Grey Robe
for comfort when I’m down
drinking a cup of tea
eking out the last of The Sun
–
The Hawk Portico 5:05pm
Low Blood Sugar or No Blood Sugar
(something’s wrong with the reader)
I’m in a mini depression
saved only by getting My Hair done
& sitting out here
on The Portico
in mild fall sun
the purging of waves
& the double squawk of a Jay
repeated on His Wire
The Tomato-coloured Couch 7:42pm
20 years ago during My First Depression
I departed from The Pink Bedspread
of The Yarmouth Psychiatric Unit
to take some advantage
of an offered outing
in a hospital bus
to venture across
a high-grass board-walk
to nowhere
only to return to My Bedspread
which may well have been
Chrysanthemum Gold
The Hawk Deck
11:00 am
Eye am dressed in solid grey
& un-ironed white linen
sitting on The Deck, quiet
My Daughter, visiting from College
has just fed Gully
some old rice cakes
& The Crows are subdued
in the trifling fog
Joanna Gilman Hyde 