Joanna Gilman Hyde

"Good Morning, World!"

Tag: mother

TRANSFIGURATION 2

The Hawk Out Post 12:51pm

The Blue Jay

bore out of the bush

to a rock in My Far Yard

 then to The Scraggly Apple

— I kept My Eye on Him —

— feeling My Blood —

& He Came to

Me

He Came

 

STAR LIGHT

The Hawk Outpost 10:15am

Sun — I guess It’s Sun —

filters through the fog

of a spring morning

I am in My Grey

C2 Rowing Outfit

Hunter is sleeping late

Eliza is on Her Way

to fun

& fame

MY PIECE

The Hawk Living Room 10:22am

The piece of black clothing

has crept its way into

My Underwear Drawer

furnished by My Daughter

— The Piece — not the drawer —

unopened in a plastic pack of five assorted

Joe Fresh Women’s High-cut Briefs

size small:

My Black Jesus Underpants

STATIONED

The Hawk Portico 3:15pm

I am like a Big Italian Woman

leaning on bare elbows

out an open window

surveying Her Neighbourhood —

does She hear The Birds

as She nods to Her Neighbours

& watches Children on bicycles?

HOME

The Hawk Deck NOON

The Vista Of My Mind

is an endless one —

There Is No Horizon

I am emanating

The Juice Of Life

I have come This Far

to regulate

to undulate

to populate

and I will stay Here

until The Chickadee

calls Me

Home

STRENGTH

The Tomato-coloured Couch 6:32pm

My First Incarnation

was as a sperm, strong

pointed

My Second was as a zygote

settled, growing

My Third was embryonic

at sea, close

My Fourth was as The Newborn Infant

face lifted to Mother

My Fifth was as The Astute Girl

Who wowed adults

and wanted to be a ballet dancer

My Sixth was as The Teenager

Who wanted to be a helicopter pilot

and do art on the side

Then I grew, focused, into A Young Woman

Who wanted to live in Nova Scotia

and married a man who would take Her there

to be near Her Mother

Her Mother Who Died

and left The Incarnation

of The Spirit

from Which The Flesh had

sprung

The Ghost In The Gallery

The Hawk West Desk Window 8:45pm

Once there was A Little Girl

Whose Mother died before

She was born — She was not scared —

She saw a Shower of Silver Blades

of Light

Four Days Later

It bestowed upon Her The Conviction

of The Existence of God

Twenty One Years Later

The Little Girl made A Gallery

of paintings of Her Mother

along with paintings The Little Girl

had painted Her Self —

She spent Many Hours hanging Her Gallery

down in The Basement

until One Night She & Her Daughter

— Her Daughter was Nineteen —

watched as a photograph of Her Mother’s Island

fell from Its hook

just when The Daughter was asking

“Was that when Your Mother Died?”

No more pictures were hung

except that one —

in a different place —

and The Daughter & The Little Girl

became the best of friends

and grew up together

The End

THE EVOCATION OF MY MOTHER

The Tomato-coloured Couch 7:18pm

In My First Year

She took Me to Africa to meet Dr Schweitzer

for Him to hold Me

forever in a black and white photograph

hanging here in My Dining Room —

how could He have known

I would have The Shower Of Silver

Blades Of Light

which would turn Me

into What I am

Today:

A Woman Who Wishes

Only The Best

For This New World?

Putting Away The Laundry

The Tomato-coloured Couch 8:30pm

It’s been a Winter

of dying dogs & Dads

& a dear old Mother-in-law

settled into Her Husband’s

room of departure

in a tiny hospital

with, I’m guessing

the same fiery sun

going down in front

prompting Me to curtsey

MORNING SILVER

The Hawk Kitchen 8:30am

The Clouds are lined with Silver

actual Silver Lining

& I am embarking on visiting

My Mother-in-law @ Roseway*

and in the other direction —

Luke of Whom I am so fond

*Roseway Hospital, Shelburne, NS