The Hawk Kitchen 1:22pm
When I reach for My Life Glass
I am reaching for My Past
My Future
I am reaching for My Laundry Basket
My Plate of Lunch for My Husband
I am reaching for The Love
of My Life
& I am reaching
for The Fluidity
of My Grace
The Tomato-coloured Couch 9:05pm
My Husband is
a very brave man
He answers to The Call
of sirens
vessels of the night
loading & unloading
the dead & ailing
He rests by the sides
of widows
& talks with His Blue Eyes
The Tomato-coloured Couch 8:15pm
I drive My Little Ford Fusion
fuelled by McDonald’s decaf
& a steady flow of Joy Division
over sea-side roads
taking Me on office errands
wherein I am one of the fanciers
of Our Provincial Health Care
Loonie*
*Canadian equivalent of the dollar
The Hawk West Desk Window 3:00pm
I have two worn out Birks Boxes
for My Single Silver Pen
re-established in Its Domain
each time I finish
writing — oh like a body
underneath a coffin lid —
lay Me down in a tomb
marked for eternity
by Ever Stylish Artists
with Their Magic Implements
recoiling
from Their Brevity
The Hawk Corner Room, Home of My Globe 8:11pm
I have landed on Alert
True North
to make My Proclamation
that santa claus is Poison —
santa & his elves & raindeer
& mrs clause too
need to be wiped off
The Face of This Planet —
This Planet which is My Face
I will dedicate My Life
to The Restoration
of Children’s Minds
The Hawk Dining Room 8:15am
The Sun is Gold
upon The Ocean —
I cannot forget Gold
It sustains Our Economy
such as It is
& when I look behind Me
I see The Window’s Shadow
warm upon My Mirrored
Wall
The Tomato-coloured Couch 5:18pm
Thousands of Women in Sri Lanka
sew My Husband’s shirts
& fasten countless buttons
for Me to undo
one by one
The Hawk Kitchen 2:10pm
I stood in The Portal
of My House
waving good-bye
to My Husband after
lunch —
I stood
as A Woman
not just of The House
but of The World
Joanna Gilman Hyde 