The Hawk Kitchen 3:40pm
I Am A Daughter-In-Law
even in Death —
The Death of My Mother
brought to an end My First Marriage
but I held on to My Ex-Husband’s Parents
& They held on to Me
through The Death of Peter’s Father
I am now saddled with His Mother
Whom I Love
but will I get Her Groceries
and oh — should I mention
that My Second Husband
is My Ex-Mother-In-Law’s
Doctor?
The Tomato-coloured Couch 4:35pm
She was My Little Girl
My Masterpiece of Perfection
The Adorable Child
I have only in photographs
separated from Me
while I was ill
NOW — She is off
from Miami Beach
to British Columbia
leaving another heart
May 15, 2015 The Hawk Queen Bed 9:42pm
Women are bleeding
all over The Globe
having babies and abortions
I am so tired
I could sleep for a thousand years
& wake to A New Day
of Knowing
& wake to A New Long Day
The Hawk Queen Bed 8:48pm
In The Jordan Bay House
Howard and Eye were put to bed
at 8 o’clock
with late evening sun
pouring in over the ridge
to the west of our Grandparents’
It came through uncurtained windows
as We lay in Our Beds
tired from Our Days
at the shore
or helping in Granmamma’s garden
or Pappy’s workshop —
those were the domains
of Our Grandparents while Our Mother
worked on Her Island House
half a harbour away
where She would sleep
forever when She died
with sheep walking over
Her Grave
The Hawk Kitchen Outpost 2:30pm
Oh if I had ever rode
inside a big yellow school bus
along the pristine coast
of Cape Sable Island
how much knowledge would
I have gathered?
Would I have married
a lobster fisherman
& had Five Children
all different
from My Own?
Would I have watched
Them board the bus
seeking its way through
the scrub spruce
beside the open ocean
turning to My Kitchen
& perhaps to My Pen?
Eliza’s Room 10:09am
When a cat knocks
something over
& it breaks
& You try to fix it
too hastily to replace the fractional pieces
You’re left with a unique ornament
of a mother elephant
with baby
& the defining mark of accident
on its left ear
The Hawk Kitchen 2:19pm
I am seeing The Colours
of Flaming June*
out on the highway
in scraps of florescent rope
in the roses and carnations from My Children
in My Frying Pan
of green and orange peppers
and in My Cold Weather Wear
warning of My Existence
*Frederic Leighton 1895
The Hawk Corner Room 4:49pm
My Mother’s Death
is My Inclusion
It’s The Hazy Arrow
through The Heart of Me
surrounded by The Glitter
of Ideal Love
& perfect symmetry
Marked
Halifax, NS 1:55pm
I saw A Little Girl
quickly stroking Her Nanna’s Hands
out-stretched on a cafe table
She — The little Girl —
had on a Silver Heart
& played with Her Elder’s Hands
until Her Mother
took The little Girl
to the bathroom
The Hawk Kitchen 2:48pm
I know what it means
to be a housewife:
picking lint galaxies
off Your Husband’s Shirts
doing a light load of wash
for A Grown Daughter
Who’s off to be
with Her Grown Brother
wondering if Your Children will appear
for supper
Joanna Gilman Hyde 