The Tomato-coloured Couch 3:45pm
Long ago & far away
I was housed in a place
I did not want to be
I did not want to be
& so I was stationed
in an artificial unit
of nurses, doctors & cafeteria food
for weeks at a time
yet I have no memory of what day
or year, I got out
it doesn’t really matter
that I cannot recall
the end of that terrible time —
all that matters now
is that I am happy
& I DO want to live —
My Life is full
in This Glorious Place
The Hawk Queen Bed 9:48pm
The Days go pretty fast
around here
I find My Self turning
into bed again
after a weekend day
with Hunter
rowing, eating, writing
loving My Staid Existence
I find My Self
turning into
bed
after cracking the windows
for the last balmy air
of summer
The Tomato-coloured Couch 2:00pm
I have painted
giant canvases
spread My Self across
the geography of Canada
written volumes of poetry
married twice
to capable men
carried My 2.4 Children
I live now in a house
of My Own Choosing
I am The Artist In Residence
in painted-on jeans
with tea steeping
in My Kitchen
The Hawk Portico 5:47pm
I wonder what happened
to The Clothes I left in Atlantic
when I left My Husband
for Dr Blair —
how long did They stay
in the closet Peter built
— My Shoes —
— I can’t remember
what shoes —
did He take Them
to The Salvation Army?
— but Here —
here on The Hawk
where silence greets Me
from My Red Deck Chair
where I can hear a bird fly
or a neighbour’s flag flap
and the surf, always the surf
— Here I needn’t ask —
The Hawk Outpost 9:34am
The Swath Of Silver
Beyond My Post
Blinds Me To Its Essence
But Reminds Me
Of My Security
In My Lovely House
By The Sea
The Tomato-coloured Couch 7:34pm
No haiku tonight —
I’ll write something
long & drawn out
like how I conjured up
Nothing
from one of My Thought Cycles
& ended up not knowing
what to think
or why
or how —
I have recovered
here on my Tomato-coloured Couch
where I am comfortable
at Home
relatively relaxed
with A Husband on His Computer
telling Me to take a break
The Tomato-coloured Couch 2:50pm
Today in The Little Store
in Clark’s Harbour
which I patronize
as much as I can
I was addressed
by a sardonic neighbour
as “Mrs Blair” — boy
has She got My Number
The Hawk Portico 4:45pm
I want to write
My Life Out
in brilliant vibrancy
like the colours
of My Quilt
Purple & Teal
housed now
in a lavender room
by The Sea
(of course)
where I am
happiest
in a red deck chair
on My Front
Stoop
(The Portico)
entertained by amiable neighbours
taken care of
(in case I still need care)
by My
Glowingly Handsome Husband —
let Me write
too
about My Beautiful
Daughter
My Heroic Son
& yes
as the brightest
of all
let Me write
& Write
about My Love
which strings Me along
from water tap
to ocean spray
I drink
from My Glass
named Life
& I live
in Divine
Completeness
Joanna Gilman Hyde 