The Hawk Queen Bed 10:00pm
Tonight I saw a Nebula
of cat hair against a mat
black by the front door
with a Crescent Moon
of shedded cat claw
among the detritus of outdoors
tracked in
and as I contemplated from above
My Spectacle of Space
a fat cat came along
and sat
and sat
The Hawk Queen Bed 10:03pm
The nightly ointment applied
to My Doctor-Husband’s legs
has conditioned My Hands
ready for work
I will now delve into the guts
of Humanity
The Innards of The World
I will knowingly dirty My Hands
when I said I never would
serve God — I would serve
only My Self —
I have seen The Meaning of Life
and It is brazen and brash
as The Sun
and It is My Dark Haired Angel
God of My Creation
sitting on My Right Shoulder
declaring in Her Melodious Voice
“You Know The Meaning Of Life
And So You Are A Star —
So Go To Sleep…”
I will go now not to sleep
but to coat My Broad-palmed Hands
laden with the protective balm of Her Words
to absolve the recesses of My Skin
of any fatal impurity
and pummel My New-born Fists
into every Man, Woman and Grown-up Child
The Tomato-coloured Couch 5:11pm
I have craved Fame & Glory
as badly as any
suicide-ed poet
— I have made attempts
on My Own Life —
but more-so have I
striven to live
as I do now
when My Work is being read
every day & every day
I am not dead
The Hawk Dining Room 12:18pm
Why do I feel so much better?
is the same question as
Why do I feel so terrible?
There is no one answer for either
so I will revel in My Contentedness
and dismiss the recollection
of Darker Days
The Hawk Corner Room 7:35pm
The Prettiest Light
is in The Eastern Sky
when The Sun goes down in The West
The East soaks It in
in Mauve, then Chiffon Pink
with Blue-grey underneath
hovering over The Water
I sit and think
how Yesterday
is no more
how Today
is ending thus
The Hawk Corner Room 1:15pm
Do My Cells Know
I Am Exhibiting
“A Failure To Thrive” —
Do They Know I Have Not Eaten Lunch
& That I Cannot
Possibly Take The Cats To The Vet
Tomorrow
For Their Annual Inoculations?
The Hawk Corner Room 10:43am
I have to write
as if My Life depended on it —
I have to write
as I watch The Silver Streaks
out on the ocean
move from singular lines
to eye-splitting patches
taking over
the murky darker grey
The Tomato-coloured Couch 3:02pm
I Have My Big Black Lion
At My Feet
And My Daughter’s Mane Of Gold
At My Fingertips
I Am Licking My Wounds
With A Salivating Tongue
And Garnering My Strength
For The Onslaught
Of The World
The Hawk Queen Bed 9:57pm
I live a life
of comparative luxury
with My Weight
on My Left Hip
& My Right Ankle relaxed
while I peel off
My Mother’s Silver Bangles
ancient ring of gold & amethyst
I’m not rich — yet —
but I expect to be
in This Lifetime
in the meantime
I eat frugally
& engage in a very limited
society of friends
Joanna Gilman Hyde 