Joanna Gilman Hyde

"Good Morning, World!"

Tag: cats

WAITING FOR 10:22

The Hawk Deck 9:47am

Yes, The Flies are going to grant Me

My Complete Happiness

I hear Them calling

periodically

along with The Waves

The Birds

& an occasional Cat

Oh — I just sneezed — twice

I see The Universe

when I sneeze

Have I Ever Told You That?

ELIXIR OF LIFE

The Hawk West Desk Window 11:30am

Every Morning I Am

A Woman Of Ritual

I Wake To Open The Blinds

Re-fill The Kitties’ Water Dish

And Drink From My Fridge Spigot

The First Of Many Glasses

Marked “LIFE”

I Log My Self Organizing Galaxy Views

At 9:11

Or 10:22

I Row For 22 Minutes And 22 Seconds

On My C2 Indoor Rowing Machine

And Then I Take

**My Shower**

The Literal Transformation

Of My Shower Of Silver Lights

MY LAP

The Hawk Portico 5:30pm

I make My Lap

available to cats

& men

but only for short

periods of time

I invariably get up

to write

or wash dishes

or to get a sweater

if it’s windy

then I sit down

& cross My Legs

again

 

BACK FROM NOVA SCOTIA

The Tomato-coloured Couch 4:15pm

Every September after Labour Day

Our Pets

recognized the smell of Rockland County

by lifting Their Noses to the humid air

crossing the Tapanzee Bridge

happy to be coming back

to Their Most Familiar Grounds

overgrown with dried leaves

and neglect —

They couldn’t be aware

of Our Mother’s apprehensions

for a house vacated by summer tenants:

She usually said

“The House isn’t too bad”

but complained about the yard

while I adjusted to sleeping

in the dark dense air

of My School Year Room

LOOKING EAST

The Hawk Deck 7:30pm

Nothing will unhinge My Happiness

here —

no dying or dead parents

no deranged brother

no cloak of depression

only My Black Cat Astro

— if He were to die

I would be heart-broken:

My Happiness mauled to pieces

EPILOGUE

The Hawk Family Room 1:22pm

Hunter’s cat Cami

reappeared today

one day shy of a week

since disappearing —

a brown & ginger little cat

Who gingerly taps Hunter’s Arm

when She wants to go out

or wants a treat

NARY A CAT

The Tomato-coloured Couch 8:00pm

All Other Losses

Seem To Culminate

In The Loss Of A Pet:

down to The Fish Plant I went

in the blowing fog

to look for Cami

& saw nary a cat

only a nice man

who wondered what I wanted

“I’m looking for a lost cat”

“Oh, I’ve had about five people so far

this summer —

one fella even had a picture — ”

believe it or not

a helium balloon

flew

overhead

EVENING ON THE HAWK

The Hawk Hallway 7:34pm

My Journal Upon My Lap

Braces My Right Thigh

Crossed Over My Left

With The Final Rays Of Sun

Gracing My Kneecap

I Am Sitting To Write

Of The Exciting Time

Of Royal Birth

Growth Of Gold & Silver

& My Magic Number

Of The Day

The Only Shadow

On Our Good Favour

Is The Disappearance

Of Hunter’s Cat Cami

For The Second Time

MORNING ON THE HAWK

The Hawk Deck 10:17am

The Waves sing out to Me

while Our Coffee steeps

Hunter is feeding the cats

I will check My Rooftop Views

@ 10:22

The Hawk Queen Bed 10:57am

The Surf is to The South

coming through Our Bedroom Windows

while We sit, legs stretched out

drinking second cups of coffee

on Our Hawk Queen Bed

with a solitary cat —

one of six —

resting between Us

MY GUESS

The Hawk Portico 10:22pm

My Guess Is That Cats

Worry The Birds

At Nesting Time

Much Like Predatory Governments

The World Over

Disturb The Population

Of People Trying

To Make A Living

(And I Don’t Mean To Paint Cats Black)