September 21st, 2016
The Hawk Queen Bed, Near Midnight
Was there ever really an age
of Innocence?
The Lumps of Years
hardly matter anymore —
was it when My Children
were Children?
was it when I was
knocked out every night
on ten milligrams of Olanzapine
not knowing in the morning
if I dreamed?
Today marks Week Fifteen
since I stopped It
at The Site of a Rainbow
and I was going to write
a letter to London, England
to a man I treasured
when I was three —
My Mother’s Lover —
He is old now
and wonders if He’s written
His Last Book —
He takes care of A Man
He Loves — Who has Alzheimer’s —
takes Him when The Man’s Institution
welcomes a break —
I was going to write
that on Week Fourteen
I bleached & bleached
the growing blackness off My Deck
to make It look like driftwood —
It came out looking like that anyway
and My Daughter was proud —
I was going to write
that I replaced the old gold handles
on My Kitchen Cabinets
with wrought-iron-looking ones
picked out by Eliza
and what else did I do today?
I prayed for a dog.
I cooked Day Six
of Our New Ketogenic Diet
resulting from Eliza’s visit
and I believe I am better
off for It — though
I wonder about sleep —
the low carbohydrate level tends to rev Me up
Eliza suggests warm milk
with one tablespoon of honey
at bed time —
should I sleep in Her Room
again?
The Next Morning:
The Hawk Deck 10:17am
I slept with Hunter
not before two o’clock in the morning
and woke with a dream
of being about to meet
The Daughter of The Man
EYE LOVE
I changed Eliza’s sheets —
Her Comforter is hanging out
on the line —
and I heard The Rooster
again
before I got up
to make The Coffee
Joanna Gilman Hyde 