The Dishwasher is running again
& My Son Peter is with Me
from Montreal via Alberta
He’s a Tree-planting Crew Boss
finished with work for The Summer
now readying for school
in The Fall
The Fog Should Be Gone By Then
I am Singing The Praises
of being Peak’s Mother
& have just opened The Dishwasher Door
as It went on The Dry Cycle
My Husband/Doctor tells Me
The Sound of The Waves
works on The Pleasure Centres
of My Brain
like a narcotic, like opium
or nicotine or cocaine
& I say The Sound relaxes & invigorates–
I am addicted to The Surf–
It crept up on Me
over the course of these two years
& I never knew I could be so healthy
Just as I was gauging My Happiness Quotient
I mangled a spider
in the laundry line wheel–
before resuming My Favourite Chore
I had to leave My Deck
to get a tissue
to sop up the yellow blob
of That Instant
Locked in The Cradle of Security
with Dr Blair’s soothing Right Hand
along My Left Forearm
My Window is open to The Shush of Southerly Waves
My Insides digest a pill of Olanzapine
& I Am Set Free
to Go To Sleep
I spy a stalwart Robin
perched on My Neighbour’s Laundry Pole
–
I watch awhile
until She flies
down to the grass
& there goes My Poem
–
Oh My God — She’s Back!
–
I forgot The Fog–
The Fog is wafting past Her
The Hedge is rustling below Her–
–
Oh, There She Goes–
1/2 of India sits
in The World’s Largest Blackout
I sit on My Deck
with My Black Astro
lying across Me
while I wait
for a call from My Realtor
maybe with an offer
on My Mother’s Island House
complete with Windmill
& Solar Tracker
Snow White & Black Jesus
went out to a beach
for a picnic
They ate peanut butter
& jelly
& threw the crusts
to The Gulls
They held hands along
The Breaking Surf
They made love
in The Sand
–
Snow White went back to Her Cottage
but Black Jesus had no home
He stayed on The Shore
& waited for Snow White
to come out & play
But She Didn’t Come
–
The next Day it rained
but Black Jesus waited
He got drenched
but all He could think about
was Snow White
& so He waited
The Sky cleared partially
& He saw a Rainbow
He ran up to Snow White’s Cottage
& alerted Her to what He saw
She said, “Thank You Black Jesus —
You Can Come In Now
I Love You”
Joanna Gilman Hyde 