The Hawk Kitchen 11:30am
This Morning I lay on My Back
in The New Dentist’s Chair
& looked up to see My Future
emblazoned on The Ceiling:
The Flashes
The Split Seconds
i-dent-i-fied Me
& I had on My Bulletproof Vest
not like The Twilight Star
in red brocade
I turned on The Water
in what’s called Eliza’s Shower
& unbuttoned My LL Bean Rose Striped Linen Shirt
in The Mirror, Eliza’s Mirror
& took off My Grey Capris
which I have to throw out
because My Husband told Me
They go up The Crack of My Butt
I took off My Underwear
& tossed It in Eliza’s Laundry Basket
I took off My Unwieldy Bra
& hung It on a doorknob
How Long Is This Poem Going To Be?
I looked at My Body’s Profile
& decided if I look fat
I am probably about to get My Period
–
I stepped in behind The Curtain
The Stall was dirty
I put cleanser on a cleaning rag
I cleaned while The Spray was on Me
& rinsed The Tub
My Hair Was Wet
I squeezed out some Nizoral
Red In My Left Hand
& lathered My Hair
The Directions advise to leave It in
for 3-5 minutes
so I stepped back out
to look at My Watch
It told Me I was in The Twenty-second minute
OH! That’s When I Cleaned The Tub!
I cleaned The Tub & then Me
& rinsed My Hair
& got out
I towelled off in a clean towel
& took My Clothes
back to My Room
to put on Different Clothes
& Do You Know What I Put On?
I put on Black Underwear
My Black Push-up Bra
Black LL Bean Capris w/ Comfort Waist
Black Tank
Silver Earrings
Wedding Rings
Quartz Crystal & Diamond Question Mark Ring
& My Ladies Bulova Open-heart Watch
I bought for My Self
Dear Diary —
I watched Eliza
dab at Her Hair in The Dining Room Mirror
& realized “My Daughter Has The Power To Kill”
while I became immortalized
at the age of eighteen
by telling My Only Real Boyfriend:
“You’re Just Another Face, Another Dick”
To Sing The Song of The Hummingbird
I write to say I Saw One Today
buzzing in Our bedraggled Apple
& finding Nothing There
buzzed away beyond The House —
I may never see Its Greenness again
What would Its sight portend?
–
I drove with Eliza
& Her First Serious Boyfriend Tyler
to La Creamy Treat in Pubnico
on The Highway Home
Two Flying Objects hit the wind shield
Eliza, driving, pronounced “I killed
Two Hummingbirds with One Car –”
Tyler, from The Back Seat
resolutely announced “I saved
A Hummingbird caught in a Spider Web”
I HAVE POLISHED MY SILVER TORCH
Join Me In My Fundamental Guidance
–Yes, There Is God
No, We Are Not Dying–
We are Self Organizing
re-distributing Our Wealth
in All Forms:
Our Wealth of Individuality
Our Wealth of Spirituality
Our Wealth of Divine Intelligence
& Our Every-day Intelligence
We are going somewhere
& that Place is
The Here & Now
–
Join Me In My Fundamental Guidance
–You need not be “saved”
You, We, Need To Be Applauded–
Applaud Us, Ourselves
We Are The Ones Who Are Praise-worthy
God is Our Audience
Yet God is Our Substance
Our Flesh & Blood
Our Brains
Our Mind
The Silver Torch Is Lit
for Us
The Inseparable
Joanna Gilman Hyde 