The Hawk Portico 3:15pm
I live at A Beach Resort
out on My Portico
with potted palm fronds
to either side
& all The Bird Song
I could cling to
above
the gentle surf
out front
The Hawk Deck 10:40am
The Scraggly Apple
is a stunted tree
in My Back Yard —
The Only Tree
within Our Boundaries
used by various types of birds
as a deck-side outpost
for viewing and warbling:
I’ve seen Jays, Robins
Grackles, Sparrows, Warblers
and once a small Woodpecker
— anything heavier
would not be given perch
by Its nearly leafless
lichen-covered
branches
The Hawk Deck 11:00am
I have turned into
a religious figure
dressed in purple robe
& sun hat
holding My mauve & gold
Journal
on My Knee
I hear the birds
a lawn mower
& write
of The Solace
I seek for Others
Who may share
My View
of The Internal God
The Hawk Deck 10:22am
Can You believe Me Now —
Do You believe Me Now —
Twenty Years after The Shower Of Lights
that I Am God
from Inside
No, I am not The External God
The Man in The Sky
I Am My Own Boss
with The Meaning of Life
under My Belt
A Wilson’s Warbler singing His Song
out to Me
from The Scraggly Apple
Can You, Could You, Believe Me Now?
The Tomato-coloured Couch 6:30pm
That Bird with the sweetest trill
receives The Perfect Mate —
even Crows are treated fairly
with Their Devoted Followers —
The Bird World Works
& has worked for Millennia —
Shouldn’t Ours?
The Hawk Portico 2:42pm
Do Birds Know
the higher up They go
above the tree tops
the better Their cries will carry?
Or when They are in open air
between the trees
like The Crows & Grackles
squabbling today
over what?
Nesting Rights
or small fry?
Joanna Gilman Hyde 