The Hawk Basement 3:22pm
I was going to write
a poem
listing My Psychiatric Diagnoses
but I decided
to make Potato Salad
instead
*maverick psychiatrist/author (1920 — 2012)
The Myth of Mental Illness
Schizophrenia: The Sacred Symbol of Psychiatry
The Hawk West Desk Window 9:40pm
I stood in My Raspberry LLB Sippers from China
& Fuchsia Turtle-neck Sweater from Years Ago
to enunciate in front of My Bedded Husband
Three Fundamental Rules
For This Planet:
1. No Legalized Abortion
2. No Militarized Killing
3. No Capital Punishment
& asked One Question
for All of Us to Ask:
What Is The Value
of One Human Life?
The Hawk Queen Bed 10:22pm
“Hey Everybody! This is God
yes, G-O-D
One of You, All of You
here, as always, to tell Us
We have a correction to make —
in case You were wondering
I am female —
52 years old in Body
infinite in Mind:
Caucasian North American
with a psychiatric history
not permitted to carry a firearm
but I can wear a bullet-proof vest
to guard My Castle-by-the-sea
where I live with My Husband
the very popular Dr Blair
& My Daughter, the very beautiful Eliza
& seven cats —
I’m not kidding around —
on March 31st, 1993, after four days of no sleep
induced by the death of My Mother
I had The Shower Of Silver Lights
crash down on My Head —
I thought I was The Second Coming Of Christ
but I didn’t want to give Christianity
that much credit
so I simplified My Title
My Essence
into Those Three Little Letters
& no, I don’t knowingly control the weather —
it controls Me
& yes, I believe in eternity
& The Sacredness Of Human Life
OR I WOULDN’T BE HERE!!”
“It’s Time To Hear My Rallying Cry
to sort out Our Miseries
Organize
Our Desires
Our Abilities
forget Our failings
Uphold Honesty
for where has Honesty
gone?
It’s Time To Apprehend
My Leadership —
I offer up My Self
for I am One Human
Who has seen The Light
& Knows It To Be
The Light Of This World
Our Precious Little World”
The Hawk West Desk Window 1:22pm
He can’t feed Himself
anymore
The Nurses have to spoon-feed
His Soft-food Diet
and water or apple juice
with a thickening agent
and change His Diaper
The Doctor says:
“There’s nothing We can do now
but make Him
comfortable”
The Tomato-coloured Couch 5:55pm
White Trucks are mechanical Angels of Mercy
I saw One driving out of the polling station today
after voting for My Liberal MLA
(Member of The Provincial Legislative Assembly)
Whom My Husband says is Pro-Life
The Hawk Portico 6:00pm
I have shed The Cloak
of Both My Parents
and That Which I shared with My Brother
Who would have been 51 today*
–
I am The Sole Survivor
of That Family
The Family I was born headlong into —
My “Old” Family —
as I have wrapped My Self anew
within Hunter, My Grown Children
and 7 Cats
*My brother Howard Talbot Walden Hyde was killed November 22, 2007, while in custody. His death prompted the three-year Hyde Inquiry which found his death to be accidental due to restraint by jail guards — namely one Henwood.
The Hawk West Desk Window 10:22am
I am wearing the colour of vulnerability
is it still the colour of surrender?
I stand in the bathroom mirror
& look at My Self — Dual Citizen
a representative of North America
in LL Bean Blue Jeans
& white sweat shirt
Grey Star at My Neck
Diamond Rings blaze on both My Hands
What do I stand for?
Canadian/US Citizen
on guard
for
Thee
The Hawk Deck 10:40am
I’m a wanna-be Spiritual Leader
I wanna teach Humanity
to love Itself
How corny is that?
Here on My Deck I love
in The Light Of Morning
I wanna cry out
“Love Your Selves!”
The heck with God —
We bumbling Humans
are where It’s At
Look what We can make
of Our Selves
Wanna Bet?
The Hawk Portico 9:11pm
I Am The Call
Of The Black Crow
Outside My Kitchen Deck
Insistent, Declarative
Hungry For Any Response
In The Awakening Distance
Of Our Waiting World
The Hawk West Desk Window 9:11pm
The Voice, My Voice
which emanates from
My Sordid Black Box
is The Strident Voice Of Command
laying out facts
straight on a platter
not as an offering
but with the insistence
that You take
what I dish out
not as punishment
but to quell the notion
of an ideal world
for Our World is The Real World
dark & defiant
crawling with Human Beings
Joanna Gilman Hyde 