The Tomato-coloured Couch 8:35pm
Tonight I bit into
The Meaning Of Life
It was Crispy Cookie
on The Outside
with Chocolate Chunks
& Chocolate Ice Cream
in The Middle —
I took several savoury bites
as I did when It was first served
to Me
in The Dark of March 31st, 1993 —
I crunched The Chocolate
& The Ice Cream melted
on My Tongue
I swallowed My Last Swallow
& then It was gone
The Hawk Window Seat 11:22am
I Am Advertising My Self
But I Am Not For Sale —
I’m Free!
–
The Hawk Living Room NOON
She Cried, “I AM IN LOVE!”
& Then She Died
The Hawk Living Room 9:30pm
I’m standing, hovering
above My Mini –
fireplace — My Candle
abra in the center
of My Chinese Coffee Table
I just had to write about
it, here in the dark —
no Other Lights are on
I am writing like a blind woman
Yet I have just had the
satisfaction of eating
a President’s Choice
Decadent Chocolate Chunk
Sandwich Cookie
with My wool-socked feet
up before the
flames
The Tomato-coloured Couch 7:20pm
The Fall Of Joanna Gilman Hyde
Has Been My Greatest Climb
I’ve Found The Words I’ve Needed To Use
& Boy I’ve Made Them Chime
note: Death of Mother, Elizabeth Walden Hyde, March 27th, 1993
The Tomato-coloured Couch 5:50pm
I’m having a flash-back
back to when I was in
My Mother’s Womb — I knew then
I’d be a stocky blond
in red sneakers & a white gym suit
on The Roof of # 5 World Trade Center
& grow up to marry well
twice-over —
I knew then I would harbour
within the duration of My Existence
a pulling enticement
which when met
would give birth
to the ultimate contraction
between
young & old
&
I would live & die
in
one
moment
The Hawk Kitchen 2:59pm
an immobilized fly
knows no secrets
adhering, somehow, to the outside
of My Living Room Window
— I thought He was a spy —
when I wanted to write
“What Do I Most
Want To Say –“
and for Whom?
“For My Self”
— I saw He had died —
Joanna Gilman Hyde 