The Hawk Corner Room 5:14pm
Today The Ocean
went from Blue
to Grey
& I sat above It
to contemplate
My Self —
& do You know what
I discovered?
That with My Husband
reading War & Peace
beside Me
I can say anything
in The World
& be heard
The Hawk Corner Room, Halo Book
Seated In The Lotus
Position
I Feel A Man’s Tongue
Inside My Mouth
My Teeth Outline
His Length
His Motion
His Girth
The Tomato-coloured Couch 8:25pm
I have emasculated God
in five well-considered
bites
I took Him in & swallowed
hard
& stood My Poise
in front of My Husband
The Hawk West Desk Window 3:00pm
I have two worn out Birks Boxes
for My Single Silver Pen
re-established in Its Domain
each time I finish
writing — oh like a body
underneath a coffin lid —
lay Me down in a tomb
marked for eternity
by Ever Stylish Artists
with Their Magic Implements
recoiling
from Their Brevity
Eliza’s Room 2:30pm
I live in a lavender room
where I have pulled up
the curtain against a backdrop
of rolling waves
and scrub spruce tree tops
above a painted chest
housing My Mother’s Childhood Diaries
I am sanctified
in My Daughter’s Room
where The Out-stretched Quilt
of rippling bands of purple
spreads Itself beneath two walls
of My World Trade Center Rooftop Painting
titled Self Organizing Galaxy
and beneath My Signature
in three-foot-high letters
coloured Black
The Tomato-coloured Couch 5:22pm
My Halo is back
visiting Me for half an hour
while I listened
to world financial forecasts
with Hunter
The Tomato-coloured Couch 4:33pm
I will not be burned
at the stake I will be shot
in The Back again
The Tomato-coloured Couch 2:39pm
Giant Foundation
for Me to stand supported
about to topple?
*founder of The Cooper Union for The Advancement of Science and Art
written in honour of Peter Cooper’s birthday February 12, 1791
Joanna Gilman Hyde 