The Hawk Deck 12:30pm
I am out of the literal
& metaphoric bed
of My First 52 Years
I have been shedding My 145 pounds
& am down to a proper 136
with two cups of tea
& half a banana left by Eliza
I have suffered a 24-hour fatigue
& wondered if I was not eating enough —
So What Will Become of My
Shredded Manuscript?
(need I remind You, My Audience,
that 2 copies may, with the Luck of God,
still exist)
& if They do not?
I must accept Their Loss
& shed Them as well
The Hawk Deck 3:00pm
What Is In My World?
My Devoted Husband, soon-to-be-retired
My Darling Daughter, still up in the air
as far as school goes
My Children’s Grandfather languishing
in the little local hospital
under the care of Dr David H. Wilson
and so the perpetual ocean waves
draw Me in
The Tomato-coloured Couch 3:10pm
Once there was a little girl
whose mother died from a brain tumour
& the little girl didn’t sleep for four days
On the fourth day, March 31st 1993
the little girl looked for a sign
that she was going to be al-right
& the phone rang —
a nurse from the hospital was calling
to see if the little girl was al-right
& when the little girl said:
“DoDo, I Don’t Know How I Am”
The Nurse said She Would Come Right Over
The Little Girl hung up the phone
& went into Her Mother’s Kitchen
(but She doesn’t remember why)
whereupon She was struck
with the realization of an all-knowing
all-seeing Presence
She didn’t know what had just happened
so She went back to the daybed
where She had been trying to sleep
& as She sat, was sitting
The Cathedral Ceiling above
suddenly filled with Silver Streaks
of Light
Showering Down Upon Her
as She Cried Out
“Oh My God!
OH MY GOD!
OH MY GOD!”
The Hawk Family Room 3:50pm
I follow A Digital Signal, Sign
first seen stuck on a banana peel
a square black & white intricacy
a computer tag for scanning
(My Daughter assures Me)
seen today blown up
on a floor to ceiling disaster-relief poster
at The Canadian Red Cross
lending unit
where I helped My Ex-Mother-In-Law
borrow supplies
for Her Husband’s Hospital Homecoming
tomorrow
when Dr Wilson says Mo
can be released
Joanna Gilman Hyde 