I placed My Bejewelled Left Arm
upon the cushion of My Sofa
The Left Hand of Which
became My Grandmother’s–
The Hand My Mother Saw
in a tree
The Night My Grandmother Died
It was a lawn I mowed
in a peach bikini
when I was sixteen
now covered over with blackberry brambles
thigh high
up to the open front door
no longer entered
–
It was My Grandparents’ summer house
yellow & white
with yellow & orange roses climbing
with nasturtiums on the entry deck
vegetable garden by the sea
where parsley grew
& where My Grandmother sent Me
to pick a few sprigs for Our Supper
on The Sun Porch
2 days ago
I dreamt of My Daughter
age 4
in a Red Velvet Dress
running across a field
to Me
laughing
I called out to a nearby friend
“I Made Her
including untidy & rude–”
Scooped Up My Beloved Child
& Kissed Her Red Left Cheek
–
Today I Hand Wash
Her Teenage Underwear
I Straighten Out Her Thongs
Hang Up Her Red Bra
On The Laundry Rack
To Dry In The Sun
For Eliza’s First Camping Trip
with A Boy
She & He bought A Six-man Tent
A Pink Fishing Rod
They rigged & set minnow traps
out of plastic pop bottles
& just drove out Our Driveway
in The Boy’s Big Black Truck
to get last-minute groceries
–
Eliza’s Made Reservations for Their Grounds–
Camp Fires are Regulated
The Fire Index is High
Mrs Blair eats
Her rib-splitting bowl of spaghetti
while awaiting the return
of Dr Blair
and imagines Her Self
attending The Outdoor Concert
of all women singers
in Lockeport, Nova Scotia
next weekend
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
“What’s a Woman like You
doing in a Place like This?”
–Camera View: from back of black oven
w/ Woman looking in
leaning on elbows
–View to rivet My eight-year-old frame:
Black w/ White Star Spatter
How am I Here in this Black Space?
Now white with tomato spatter
from Eliza
in The Microwave
Here I sit to watch
The Vertical Drizzle
outside the confines of The Portico
with The Waves
through The Rain
to watch A Cat
return
before My Naturally Bleach-Blond Daughter
emerges to ask
why I’m sitting in the rain
& If Her Perfect Make Up
is
OK
for
Poker
My Graffiti Years
may have begun
when I was a hospital patient
supposedly recovering at home
while My Father visited
& drove Me scheming
to emblazon each of The Town’s public mirrors
with one Gold Emblem
each with the word “God” inscribed
to describe the reflected viewer
Maybe I Should I Have Used Silver Stickers?
Super Store, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia
From Super Store Bathroom Stall
to a toddler:
“Yes, We bought lots —
for Josie, Mom & Dad —
so We won’t run out”
–
By The Dressing Room
beyond open cartons from China & Cambodia
to a little girl showing off Her Dress:
“Yes, that’s a beautiful dress —
hold onto Your Balloon!”
–
On The Deck of Rudder’s:
3 burly fishermen
w/ 2 skinny Japanese fish buyers
& One Gull
Who landed on a table
behind Eliza —
My Seventeen-year-old Daughter
Who rode to Yarmouth
with the latest Vogue
open on Her Lap
–
I came home with a Solid Gold
floor mat
for My Kitchen
Joanna Gilman Hyde 