The Hawk Living Room 12:34pm
When I learned to walk
in Africa
I stooped over
& squatted
in The Sands of Gabon
to pick up spiral shells
to lift into
My Mother’s
View
The Hawk Kitchen 12:28pm
My Kitchen is My
Viewing Station
through glass doors
& arched window
over the sink
I can see hawks
schools of tiny birds
like an aquarium
against an ever-changing
cloud-scape —
to the right
I have the delight
of The Kitchen Outpost
— a smaller window
facing My Enormous
Expanse
of salty shore line
ever-changing in the weather
of the sea
The Hawk Outpost 5:00pm
I am wearing
the colours
of sea & sky
meshed with The Silver
in My Heart
& Mind
I am moving with the clouds
of mauve
in the late afternoon light
of My Retirement
from Babyhood
into The Child’s Place
of wonder
The Hawk Kitchen 7:00pm
I See The Sphere
Of Our Universe
Swirling In Countless Forms
Of Loose Fat Globules
Inside A Big Black Frying Pan:
Hamburger Grease
And Tap Water
Don’t Mix —
They Create
The Hawk T.V. Room 12:38pm
I got enough sleep
Not The Sleep Of The Dead
still in My Pyjamas
She seems to want Me
close —
My Daughter’s Cat
I tell Her “It’s OK”
I pet Her “It’s All Right”
She gives a breathy mew
& lifts Her Head
to Live
The Tomato-coloured Couch 7:41pm
Oh to be an Egyptian Tabby
dying on Her Mat of Gold
pampered to excess
until the last pet
sees Her through
to the next
The Hawk Window Seat 5:20pm
A Sunset scatters
Itself across
The Wildest Sky
w/ tiny outlines of Gold
along the bottomest of cloud
Eye hear The Wind Song along
the southern face of M(eye) House
& watch a neighbour’s weathervane
list in translation
Eliza’s Room 2:30pm
I live in a lavender room
where I have pulled up
the curtain against a backdrop
of rolling waves
and scrub spruce tree tops
above a painted chest
housing My Mother’s Childhood Diaries
I am sanctified
in My Daughter’s Room
where The Out-stretched Quilt
of rippling bands of purple
spreads Itself beneath two walls
of My World Trade Center Rooftop Painting
titled Self Organizing Galaxy
and beneath My Signature
in three-foot-high letters
coloured Black
Joanna Gilman Hyde 