The Hawk Deck 9:32am
I have seen The Little Grey & Yellow Bird
open Its Beak, twice,
to sing Its Morning Tune
to fly away
& return
to chirp again
and so all is right
in My World
My Painting will lead The Way
to The Global Stabilization
We are awaiting
in Our Hearts
& Mind
The Hawk West Desk Window 4:11pm
I have A Voodoo Pain
at the inside of My Left Upper Arm
It’s telling Me to Right Write
telling Me to leave My Tea
telling Me to describe The Pain:
“It’s Itchy, Man!”
pulsating
not now, not now, not now
is It gonna happen again?
I do want My Tea
I’m gonna go get It —
(came back)
NOW — The Pain came again!
but what am I supposed to Right
— how silly — to be Writing
about Righting
ooh — again!
It’s My Left Upper Arm, Near My Elbow
It’s a panging itch
lasts about a second —
–
If I could Write anything
what would I Write Right Now?
ooh — It came
what would I Write without losing My Audience?
Only That Which I Am Capable Of Knowing:
My Self
I Write about My Self All The Time
I Love My Self
but I see My Self as only Half —
–
I went to the bathroom
& The Pain continued
I think It’s telling Me
to keep Writing:
I have another Half
in The Form of A Little Man —
I’m gonna make another Cup Of Tea
–
I’m back
My Rings were on the sink
I put Them on
I Love My Rings
They’re Mine
They have no Halves
I let in My Black Cat
Astro Jasper Cosmo
He’s All Mine
though My Husband Loves Him Too
My Tea is steeping
I haven’t felt another Voodoo Pain
I’ll go check My Tea
Look at all the “I’s”
going Write down this page!
The Hawk Queen Bed 10:00pm
I Know What
is going to happen
I Know What
is happening
I Know What is Going
to happen
I Know What
is happening
(arms bent up & out to the sides
head facing up)
We Are Ushering
in a new era
We Are Ushering In
The New Age
The Hawk Living Room 5:40pm
“Life Springs Eternal”
from My Fingertips
surrounding My Candle Holder of beer, now,
I am drawn into Golden Bubbles
countless
like The Stars
so why try to count —
Who The Hell Cares
as long as You can
drink Them in
& take That Star Juice
into Your Own Body
for the makings
of Men & Women
Children & Pets?
The Tomato-coloured Couch 9:15pm
We Wear Our Minds Outside Our Selves:
if Our Hair is Frazzled
We have gone miles
in open wind
–
if Our Bellies are Big
We have gorged Ourselves
on Great Ideas
left under The Table
–
if We Smile
Our Contentment
may mean Our Wanderings
have lead Us
to Our Ends
–
if We Laugh
We are revealing
Our Most Primitive Selves
in defiance
of the psychiatric labels
for which We were sent away
The Hawk Living Room 6:30pm
note: refer back to poem titled “Candle Holder”
I bought My Chalice today
in Yarmouth
It is a Candle Holder
It is frosted
It says in black “Life
is not measured by
the number of breaths we take,
but by the moments
which take our breath away.”
I bought It at Wall * Mart
I could drink Scotch out of It
The Hawk Living Room 1:45pm
I am sitting in a beam of sun
in a velvet chair
anything can happen here
in My Mind
any thought can be unleashed
with or without choice:
How do I know
I am deliberately
recalling
the total lack
of sun
in The Yarmouth Psychiatric Unit?
The Tomato-coloured Couch 8:00pm
My Mother told Me I couldn’t carry a tune
so She put Me in a crinkly black tutu
& expected Me to dance
I was the clumsy conundrum
My Teachers couldn’t figure out
I was Cinderella in French
& Teacher’s Pet in Junior High Science
I didn’t like High School
with One Peculiar Friend
Who wanted to get high
at lunch
My Mother put Me into Her College —
a small liberal arts school in up state New York
where I took all the art I could get
& transferred into Cooper Union in New York City
After graduating I decided
to paint the most visible roof in the world:
#5 World Trade Center
& was given permission by The Port Authority of NY & NJ
In 1984 I signed My Name
to the ten-thousand square-foot canvas
in three-foot high letters
I wore a crinkly black skirt
filmed by German Television
& three decades later
is on You Tube
The Tomato-coloured Couch 6:43 pm
Should I feel guilty eating
a steak sandwich in front
of My Nearly Vegan Daughter
Who exploded into tears
when I told Her
She didn’t have to go to University
to learn Sociology?
Joanna Gilman Hyde 