The Hawk West Desk Window 10:22pm
I was That Ballet Dancer
twirling madly in any psychiatrist’s fantasy
exposing My 101 Split-second Facial Expressions
aimed at an imaginary upper corner Camera —
or was It Imaginary?
in a room of no furnishings
except for one rubber mattress
repeatedly blanketed over
by Me
to grow a garden
of hair & spit
before My Assemblage
got
WRECKED-ified
The Hawk Portico 5:00pm
Boy am I glad I got
My Canadian Citizenship
— at first I thought
I had to relinquish My American
but I didn’t —
so I got My Canadian in 1995
I call My Self a Dual Citizen
Born American
Canadian By Choice
and as a Canadian, under
the provisions of the Citizen Act and,
as such, [am] entitled to all the rights
and privileges and [am] subject
to all the duties and responsibilities
of a Canadian Citizen
The Hawk Portico NOON
When I hear The Squawk of The Jay
It stirs something in Me
some nebulous touch of nostalgia
I cannot put My Finger on
It has something to do with My Childhood
or My Growing Up
solitary in Valley Cottage
maybe in The Backyard Woods —
I had few friends:
one kooky one
Who always chanted “Hyde Hyde —
Take Me Outside”
when I was happy to oblige
after some pretend reluctance
The Hawk Living Room 6:40pm
I wrapped The Corpse
of My Mother
in Saran Wrap
so I could see Her better
& carried Her inside the house
My House
so I could hear Her better
I refrained from putting Her
inside the freezer
& carried Her instead
to the downstairs bathroom
to partake in the ceremony
befallen all The Others
Note: This was written on the last page of My Keith Haring Journal
My Cat Astro
I Love So Much
hissed at Me today
when I manhandled Him
onto My Lap
I’ve never heard Him hiss before —
I will never treat Him
so brusquely again
–
I might get a tattoo
“PROLIFE”
on My Forehead —
of course I want The Cows to be happy
& The Rancher’s Mink to be beautiful
handled humanely
but We’ve got to have The Line
between Human
& Animal
I once stood before a window screened
with hardware cloth
in an institution
of not My Choosing
–
from an upper storey
I stood there as if
before a microphone
I called out
to imaginary Children below
to save Them from the water’s edge
to save The Gulls from extinction
The Hawk Portico 1:15pm
On A Day Like Lovely Today
Eighteen Years Ago
I Laboured All Day
With My Daughter
Who Was Hardly A Labour
Born Into An Inflatable Pool
@ 9:04 That Night:
She Came Out PERFECT
My Daughter stood above Me
on The Hawk Balcony
wearing an off-white sweater
She slipped on a pearl earring
Her Face was “Done”
She looked like the apparition
of An Angel
— I wished I could just send
My Mother’s Island Possession
over to Her —
but She’s going to Her Boyfriend’s hockey game
& turning 18 tomorrow
& now She’s changed
into a grey sweatshirt
Joanna Gilman Hyde 