The Tomato-coloured Couch 6:30pm
My Mother’s Death is sewed up
in that wretched little town —
I don’t have to live there any-more —
Her House is sold with The Shower of Lights
fixed in a poem
I’ll never set foot again
inside that sordid little hospital
where She was stationed for over a year
& where She Evaporated Into Thin Air
on A Saturday Night
twenty years ago
The West Desk Window 6:54pm
The Thanks Bestowed
Upon The Day I’ve Lead
Unfurls Itself
Upon My Head
–
The Rays Of Sun
Behind My Clouds
Stirs Me Up
Makes Me Proud
The Tomato-coloured Couch 2:15pm
Once, long ago, I was given
a little wooden box
from a man with whom I thought I was in love
the little black & green box was given
with directions:
Keep Your Dreams In This
Years later I gave the box
as a going away present
to a young woman
who was off to France
& once, years after that
I asked her about the little black & green box
& she said:
I think Leham keeps his marbles in it
The Tomato-coloured Couch 4:15pm
Sprung from a Cathedral Ceiling
in a House of 2000 Years
I sat below
rapid-fire spears of Silver Light
speechless
but for The Exclamation:
“Oh My God”
“OH MY GOD”
“OH MY GOD!!!”
The Hawk Family Room 12:45pm
In My Little White Gym Suit
Out On The Most Visible Rooftop
In The Whole Wide World
I Laid Out My Spiral Of Colour
For Humanity
& Let My Hair Down
Dressed In See-thru Black
For The Signing Of A Lifetime
The Hawk Kitchen 9:42pm
I possess All The Silver
here in My Silver Pen
necessary to unshadow doubts
about The World’s Organization
Natural or Man-made
for Which There Is No Division
–
I possess All The Silver
Showered Down Upon Me
filtered through My Pen’s Tip
to resurrect nothing
but what We hold in Our Hands
–
I possess All The Silver
to envelop This World
in the riches of Faith
in Humanity & God
for Which There Is No Division
The Tomato-coloured Couch 9:21pm
I wonder if I can wring out
a poem about A Sky
I didn’t see
Oh — I saw The Front of It
with Its opulent Gold
hiding the sun —
but the back of It went uninspected
& only later to be imagined
with Its pale pinks, lavender
& clouds of thinning Silver
The Hawk Corner Room 4:33pm
My Daughter, You Are Spectacular
the way I dreamt You up
to be capable of anything
with the nerve & the looks
to go with Your Infinite Abilities
You Can Do Anything
as I imagined when I saw You
in April of 1993
when I wanted A Baby Girl
A Beautiful Daughter —
not even as a compliment to My Son —
A Daughter to stand on Her Own
ready to Wow The World
now at eighteen
with Your tears of disproportion
about Your Idealized Body
Your Perfectly White Smile
and All Your Talents —
shall I list A Few?
After All, I Am Your Mother
& I Will Tell The World:
She Can Sing, Write, Act
Ride A Horse, Sail (Racing)
Bake, Cook, Organize
Play The Piano, Guitar, Saxophone —
She Can Make Money
& Raise It —
She Can Travel Solo
& Paint —
I Am Her Mother
I Made Her
And I Will Not Apologise
for Any of Eliza
The Hawk Queen Bed 8:48am
Rise Up from Your Beds
Eat Your Eggs & Ham
Dress Outlandishly
for The Church of Your Choosing
& If You Choose None
Be Robed or Naked
in Your Own Home
Joanna Gilman Hyde 