The Hawk West Desk Window 7:50pm
See My Face
Left Eye Closed
right eye of reflection
Chin Within Right Thumb & Forefinger
left hand in reflection
encompassed by The Star Field
of dental floss spatter
The Tomato-coloured Couch 9:18am
I Am A Performance Artist
My Life Is My Stage
Dressed In Black & Silver
With Red Lace Underwear
Red Lipstick
On A Cold Monday Morning
I Am Ready To Go
To The Bank
The Hawk Kitchen 6:50pm
I remember those dirty-necked boys
— what they tried with me —
the one in 4th grade
who put dimes in my desk
until he confessed
& breathed his lips
across my neck —
the one on my father’s farm
who shifted in the bed
of an old pick up
to the left of me on an extracted truck seat
under a discarded printed comforter
I distinctly remember —
he tried nuzzling me:
“What are you doing?”
“Giving you a hickey.”
“What? — I’m only eleven!”
Joanna Gilman Hyde 