The Hawk Deck 10:40pm
Dressed in My Warm Silver Robe
I have drunk the repletion
of My Life’s Waters so far
I am out on My Deck
on a windless morning
sun ablaze
I am in a haze
of happy Self
Note: written
while My Daughter happens to be
hunting
in Vermont
for one possible surviving copy
of My 364 page
Manuscript
The Tomato-coloured Couch 3:20pm
Would I be unfair or inaccurate
not to include My Daughter
in this singularly female household
supported by One Man
& One Daughter’s Inheritance (that’s Me!)
living a life of leisure
& art —
am I being unfair
to My Self — afterall
I grocery shop
take out the trash
clean occasionally
& try to cook
Yarmouth, NS 6:10pm
My Daughter is beautiful
even in the ugliest of lights
buying Her Bedding for college
on the dirtiest of floors
— the concrete of Wall Mart —
having to use Her Own Debit Card
because Her Mother brought
a wallet-less purse
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 Hawk Portico 5:55pm
Another identifiable sound here
is the melodic fog horn
sounding now with no fog
in sight —
sounding every minute
at the 42nd second mark
of My Ladies Bulova Open Heart Watch
sounding, reverberating in the key of C or D
(according to Eliza)
for ten seconds at a stretch
but not drowning out the birds
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
The Hawk Kitchen 11:40am
One Day This Week
I grew into A Giant
somewhere between
Prom on Saturday
& Graduation on Thursday —
It was Wednesday
I came out of The Bathroom
Naked
& felt My Shoulders Rise
My Chest Heave
My Legs Muscle Up —
I felt My Self Grow
like Alice In Wonderland
& climbed the stairs DOWN
to go tell Hunter:
“I’m A Giant —
I’m A Giant!”
–
I’m A Giant of A Mother
I’m A Giant of A Wife
I’m A Giant of A Lover
I’m A Giant of My Life
The Hawk Deck 4:30pm
Twenty Years Ago
I wrote in a hospital:
“I CREATED MY SELF
BUT I GIVE GOD
THE CREDIT”
(Then I got intentionally pregnant)
Now I Say:
“I MADE UP MY DAUGHTER —
I PLANNED HER
TO BE A WOMAN WHO
CAN DO
ANYTHING
(and SHE HAS TO BE BEAUTIFUL)”
Eliza, born into water
came out
P-E-R-F-E-C-T
(& God had nothing to do with it)
The Tomato-coloured Couch 10:22pm
I wore a necklace of shells
My Father sent from Africa
when I was four
She — My Daughter — wore
Her Dress Of Silver — size 2
shaped like a mermaid
& visited Her Other Grandfather
in The Hospital —
He said
“You Look Like A Fish”
Joanna Gilman Hyde 