The Hawk Kitchen Outpost 8:11am
The Sky has shifted
to The North
I look straight out
My Sliding Glass Door
out past The Scraggly Apple
beyond The Scrub Spruce
to see illuminated clouds
streaked across
A New Horizon
The Hawk Kitchen Outpost 9:33am
My Life is in Order:
the grass is being cut
after three weeks —
a super load of laundry is on
and I feel like
cooking something
decent tonight
for My Hard-working Husband
who had to take pain-killers last night
— He’s still stoned —
and is going into the office
@ Noon
The Hawk Kitchen Outpost 7:45am
I dreamt of a cheerful baby
named Turrettes
who jumped on a bed
and fell off backwards
on Her Head but
She was alright —
only spewed out a streak
of vomit
across surrounding walls
which I cheerfully
cleaned up
much to the thanks
of Her Mother
The Hawk Kitchen Outpost 7:09am
The Sun rises North now
over The Scrub Spruce
leaving only a glance
of Silver Water
for Me to stretch My Eye to —
but I saw It this morning
from the bathroom window upstairs
where I COULD see more water
and saw It blip to the surface
before I went back
to sleep
Sobey’s Parking Lot 3:55pm
Through roadside fields of Lupine
I drove My Manuscript
home
after saying Good-bye
to My New Psychiatrist
I will see no longer —
“How will You remain stable?”
She asked,
“EYE will be looking after
M(EYE) Self”
The Hawk Kitchen Outpost 7:45am
Eye catch a glimpse
of Silver out past the edge
of the scrub spruce forest —
I am left today
with the hangover of My Halo
effect of yesterday — all day —
when My Husband had to stay home
in the afternoon
as I taunted Him
with soiled underwear
The Hawk Corner Room 7:07pm
Olly The Gull
came from His Nesting Grounds
on The South End of McNutt’s Island
stolen by Me
in My 13th Year —
raised on bread and milk
taken up to The Island House Rooftop
and told to fly
The Hawk Kitchen Outpost 2:38pm
I crossed a short causeway
to PEI (Prince Edward Island)
only it was more like a small city
when I got there —
like Halifax
only tiny
and My Intention was to drive around
its perimeter
but I started talking to a group
of young urban people
who lived there
and asked
“Is there any place to dance?”
I didn’t get a specific answer
Next I was sitting
across from a black woman
who had ordered
some kind of Japanese food for Us —
tiny servings of rice with sliced pickles
on toothpicks
and a sample of something with peanuts
in a Szechuan sauce
— I was hungry and it was not enough —
She was telling me
“Do You know there’s A Child
Who’s allowed to go on the bus alone —
guess how old She is?”
I blurted out “Two!”
“Try five or six months –”
and just as I was about to ask
if there was any kind of babysitter
I started to eat My Napkin
and woke up
The Hawk Kitchen Outpost 1:22pm
Three birds landed in My Scraggly Apple:
two Starlings and one smaller greyish-brownish variety —
and dropped to the yard
into high grass needing cutting —
but there I saw through the grass
the smaller unknown open His Mouth
and The Starling nearest popped something
inside — I saw this
three times
before The Threesome flew off
and left Me
to tell My Husband
as He came home for lunch —
when My Husband was done
eating His Bagel
He looked out back and was able
to see a return of The Starlings
to the opposite section of Our Yard
whereupon The Youngster
almost hidden by grass
opened His Mouth again
and got fed some more
Joanna Gilman Hyde 