The Hawk Queen Bed 10:03pm
The nightly ointment applied
to My Doctor-Husband’s legs
has conditioned My Hands
ready for work
I will now delve into the guts
of Humanity
The Innards of The World
I will knowingly dirty My Hands
when I said I never would
serve God — I would serve
only My Self —
I have seen The Meaning of Life
and It is brazen and brash
as The Sun
and It is My Dark Haired Angel
God of My Creation
sitting on My Right Shoulder
declaring in Her Melodious Voice
“You Know The Meaning Of Life
And So You Are A Star —
So Go To Sleep…”
I will go now not to sleep
but to coat My Broad-palmed Hands
laden with the protective balm of Her Words
to absolve the recesses of My Skin
of any fatal impurity
and pummel My New-born Fists
into every Man, Woman and Grown-up Child
The Hawk Queen Bed 9:57pm
I live a life
of comparative luxury
with My Weight
on My Left Hip
& My Right Ankle relaxed
while I peel off
My Mother’s Silver Bangles
ancient ring of gold & amethyst
I’m not rich — yet —
but I expect to be
in This Lifetime
in the meantime
I eat frugally
& engage in a very limited
society of friends
The Hawk West Desk Window 9:40pm
I stood in My Raspberry LLB Sippers from China
& Fuchsia Turtle-neck Sweater from Years Ago
to enunciate in front of My Bedded Husband
Three Fundamental Rules
For This Planet:
1. No Legalized Abortion
2. No Militarized Killing
3. No Capital Punishment
& asked One Question
for All of Us to Ask:
What Is The Value
of One Human Life?
The Tomato-coloured Recliner 4:30pm
Dear Bill N Lacy:
–
You know why I handed you all those pathetic love letters while I was a student at Cooper Union and you were President? I was youthfully in lust with you, no matter what the letters said, and you were correct never to have replied.
–
After I graduated, I gave you hand-knitted socks (not knitted by me) with a note for cold feet, and months later you said, “I still have those socks –”
–
I said, “Now you don’t need them –”
–
“Why?” you suddenly asked, and I sang out, “Because Now It’s Spring!”
–
(I was about to ask my children’s father to marry me.)
–
Two husbands later I am keeping up my record — this time for over twenty years — and the object of my attentions is a small leprechaun from Scotland with whom (I’ve told myself) I would travel to outer space.
–
I hope this letter finds you well.
–
Yours truly,
–
Joanna
The Tomato-coloured Couch 9:45pm
I see You at the doors
to Sobey’s with Your Wife
I’m with My Husband —
I dodge across The Parking Lot
to The Cart Corral
with Its Yellow Sign:
In The Event Of An Emergency
Gather Here
I sit cross-legged on the pavement
below The Sign —
Do You Come Over To Me?
Does My Husband —
Or Does He Converse With Your Wife?
When & With Whom
Do I Lift My Arms
Up & Out To The Sides
As I Did In Your Presence On October 22, 1993
To Voice, Not For The First Time
I Am In A Spiritual Emergency?
The Tomato-coloured Couch 6:55pm
I live a privileged life
with a daughter in The Caribbean
& a son out West —
My Family is taken care of
& I am secure in My Wind-proof House
with seven well-fed cats
& a candle on The Living Room Table
This is to announce the newly created blog
called Ruminations
by My Husband, Dr W Hunter Blair
which puts forward His World View
in a rhetorical style
open for discussion
The Hawk Window Seat 11:08am
I have just done an Heroic Deed:
I pushed Dr Blair’s
Old Black Lincoln
out of a snow bank
and on Its Way to work
leaving Me behind
in snow-covered pyjamas
Joanna Gilman Hyde 