The Hawk Kitchen Outpost 12:17pm
They flew above Me
surrounding My View
by the hundreds —
a thick flock of Blue Jays
where before I had always seen
Their Brilliance singularly
or in pairs —
I saw Them all around
weighted in The Scraggly Apple
even landing on the deck —
it doesn’t matter what
I was thinking or
where I was standing
— EYE Saw Them —
The Hawk Deck 12:14
Under a heralding
of Blue Jays
and a back drop of waves
I am scrubbing My Canvas
My Old, 23 Year Old
giant map of Canada
where once a Maple Leaf
was painted on Quebec
where now it is pieces
having been left
blowing off wood piles
in Atlantic
I am reclaiming My Stake
in The Work
of “Satellite Art for Extraterrestrials”
to commemorate The 14 Female Engineering Students
killed in Montreal
on December 6th, 1989
before Peak was even
2 years old
The Hawk Portico NOON
When I hear The Squawk of The Jay
It stirs something in Me
some nebulous touch of nostalgia
I cannot put My Finger on
It has something to do with My Childhood
or My Growing Up
solitary in Valley Cottage
maybe in The Backyard Woods —
I had few friends:
one kooky one
Who always chanted “Hyde Hyde —
Take Me Outside”
when I was happy to oblige
after some pretend reluctance
The Hawk West Desk Window 12:22pm
So This Is Nova Scotia
I’ve woken up in The Land of Dreams
to find I no longer belong
I have arrived at My Life’s Destination
& The Jays are telling Me
“Go Back, Go Back”
“What do You want to be
when You grow up?”
“I want to be a ballet dancer
but I’ll probably be an artist”
I hold on tight to My Black Cat Astro
replacement for a beloved Tom
Who was the first creature
I ever grieved over
before My Mother Died
& I fell in love
with The Scripted Little Man
Who’s stayed with Me
in My Mind & Heart
for nearly 20 years
I must go back
to the capable kid I was
with paper route
and baby-sitting jobs
who knew She would be An Artist
Who was An Artist
painting giant canvases
& wowing art teachers
at Cooper Union
— if She could make it there
She could make it anywhere —
but She can’t go back
only forward
without the encumbrances
of Her Mother’s Estate
& The Doctor She Lives With
in a marriage based on His Reality
The Hawk Deck 8:40am
The Morning Sky is Silver
as I heed the wealth
of My Surroundings
–
The Surf is shushing Me again
while My Teacup steeps
My Husband sleeps
I assess the coolness of The Wind
–
9:40am
The Surf is Louder Now
It Wakes Me Up
To The Silver Streaks & Pools
across The Ocean
My Husband is Up
& We’re Having Coffee
–
11:40am
A Pair of Jays have come
to The Straggly Apple by The Deck
Others Join Them
so I have My Flock of Jays
Who squawk out My Growing Up
as They All fly off:
“You are in The Childhood
of Your Maturity
Here On The Hawk”
How incongruous that I should hear
The Jays of Valley Cottage
Here on Cape Sable Island
where I am so far removed
from My Growing Up–
or aren’t I still growing?
Here I feel I Have Arrived–
My Destiny has been laid out
on My Grandmother’s Silver Tray
on display atop
My Mother’s Mahogany Drop-leaf Table
Here in My Hawk Living Room
Joanna Gilman Hyde 