The Tomato-coloured Couch 5:00pm
The Sun Is Setting
to The New South West
sending rays through
layered clouds
— rays that used to fall
on the heads of saints —
now into The Ocean
illuminating the bank in orange-gold
along My Piece of Horizon
Gold is like The Sun
Silver like The Moon
How They’ll Rise Together
We shall see so soon
The Tomato-coloured Couch 10:04am
My Husband feeds The Cats
— We have six —
& I clean out The Kitty Litter
every morning
while The Coffee’s on
I pan for Gold
in The Basement
& when I’m done
I play Aquarius
in My Nude Night Gown
emptying the dehumidifier
so Hunter’s 350 Folio Books
don’t get musty
The Hawk Portico 5:55pm
I planned to sit down with My Daughter
to have a talk about Her Future
instead She showed Me Her Purchases
from Frenchy’s — designer 2nd hand —
& lovingly cradled Her Louis Vuitton
brown leather hand bag:
“I’ll never let anything happen
to this —
I’ll have It ’till I die
& I’m not joking”
The Hawk Deck 6:50pm
I’d like to paint a picture
of The Skyscape before Me
without the interruption of a single bug:
The Clouds are blue & gold
moving to The South
majestic, cumulus
layered above My Ocean
highlighted by The Sun
setting to The West–
here comes one mosquito
The Hawk Living Room 12:15 pm
I have had an undulating vision —
a purple cave-like opening
dressed in Golden Fray
–
This moving Mountain-like form
contained not the thought
of The Little Man
but His Essence
–
It pulsated at Me
slowly
pushing from behind My Eyes
& returned Him
to Me
I turned on The Water
in what’s called Eliza’s Shower
& unbuttoned My LL Bean Rose Striped Linen Shirt
in The Mirror, Eliza’s Mirror
& took off My Grey Capris
which I have to throw out
because My Husband told Me
They go up The Crack of My Butt
I took off My Underwear
& tossed It in Eliza’s Laundry Basket
I took off My Unwieldy Bra
& hung It on a doorknob
How Long Is This Poem Going To Be?
I looked at My Body’s Profile
& decided if I look fat
I am probably about to get My Period
–
I stepped in behind The Curtain
The Stall was dirty
I put cleanser on a cleaning rag
I cleaned while The Spray was on Me
& rinsed The Tub
My Hair Was Wet
I squeezed out some Nizoral
Red In My Left Hand
& lathered My Hair
The Directions advise to leave It in
for 3-5 minutes
so I stepped back out
to look at My Watch
It told Me I was in The Twenty-second minute
OH! That’s When I Cleaned The Tub!
I cleaned The Tub & then Me
& rinsed My Hair
& got out
I towelled off in a clean towel
& took My Clothes
back to My Room
to put on Different Clothes
& Do You Know What I Put On?
I put on Black Underwear
My Black Push-up Bra
Black LL Bean Capris w/ Comfort Waist
Black Tank
Silver Earrings
Wedding Rings
Quartz Crystal & Diamond Question Mark Ring
& My Ladies Bulova Open-heart Watch
I bought for My Self
I HAVE POLISHED MY SILVER TORCH
Join Me In My Fundamental Guidance
–Yes, There Is God
No, We Are Not Dying–
We are Self Organizing
re-distributing Our Wealth
in All Forms:
Our Wealth of Individuality
Our Wealth of Spirituality
Our Wealth of Divine Intelligence
& Our Every-day Intelligence
We are going somewhere
& that Place is
The Here & Now
–
Join Me In My Fundamental Guidance
–You need not be “saved”
You, We, Need To Be Applauded–
Applaud Us, Ourselves
We Are The Ones Who Are Praise-worthy
God is Our Audience
Yet God is Our Substance
Our Flesh & Blood
Our Brains
Our Mind
The Silver Torch Is Lit
for Us
The Inseparable
Joanna Gilman Hyde 