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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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)
Joanna Gilman Hyde 