The Hawk Kitchen 10:11pm
Out on My Deck
I drink in The Inspiration
of The Morning
with a North West Wind
at My Back
& coffee steeping
on The Counter inside
where My New Lettered Glass
lures Me to It’s Self
–
*quote from WHB
The Hawk Kitchen 7:50pm
I have drunk My First Beverage
W–A–T–E–R
from My Chalice Divine
standing before My Dramatic Sky
of heavy mauve cloud
& Illuminated Gull
reaching around
to the sea-view
The Tomato-coloured Couch 8:00pm
My Mother told Me I couldn’t carry a tune
so She put Me in a crinkly black tutu
& expected Me to dance
I was the clumsy conundrum
My Teachers couldn’t figure out
I was Cinderella in French
& Teacher’s Pet in Junior High Science
I didn’t like High School
with One Peculiar Friend
Who wanted to get high
at lunch
My Mother put Me into Her College —
a small liberal arts school in up state New York
where I took all the art I could get
& transferred into Cooper Union in New York City
After graduating I decided
to paint the most visible roof in the world:
#5 World Trade Center
& was given permission by The Port Authority of NY & NJ
In 1984 I signed My Name
to the ten-thousand square-foot canvas
in three-foot high letters
I wore a crinkly black skirt
filmed by German Television
& three decades later
is on You Tube
The Hawk West Desk Window 10:00pm
I believe I will live
to tell the story of My Death
& not the murky recitation
of past relatives
& misty shores
I will live to tell
of nightly dreams
coalescing
into daily performance
the history of which
enshrouded
by My Veil
of Truth
will come to My Listeners
as no surprise
The Hawk Queen Bed 9:40pm
I hear The Waves
My Backdrop to The Peepers
with My Husband’s Warm Hand
across My Left Arm
I am in My Cradle
My Bassinet
I will lie here
until
I die
Highway 103, NS 5:00pm
Today at The Halifax Shopping Centre
I saw Two Muslim Women
talking on cell phones
through Head Scarves —
One Face completely veiled —
This Day when Hunter bought
smoky quartz earrings
for My Early Birthday
The Hawk Basement NOON
The Glittering Oyster
Open-shelled
Is what We Delve Into
When We Die
With All Minds
Before
&
Ahead
Of Our
Selves
The Hawk Kitchen 5:57pm
I am in self-imposed Lock-down
in My Own Kitchen
listening to peepers
to The West
and The Ocean —
can I go outside
to hear It?
I hear only those tiny frogs
which provide Me
with such joy
The Hawk Living Room 2:22pm
I was trying to re-write an excerpt
from My Shredded Manuscript
but I failed.
It was about
The New Millennium’s New Year’s Eve Party For The Second Coming of Christ
thrown by Me
The Second Coming — all sexual innuendos intact —
where I would be in a plane loaded with champagne
(the plane, not Me)
flying into earlier and earlier time zones
appearing at the head of the plane
naked, handing out champagne to all invitees at each airport
and The Whole World would be invited
but the dress requirement would be Come Naked.
I failed
to recount all the reasons why each nationality would want to attend
regardless of the weather
but the US would have wanted to know who else was going before they would accept
the invitation
Oh, and the Muslim countries would not be able to accept
because they cover their woman at all times
and would not allow them to disrobe for any occasion and besides, they don’t drink.
The rest of the world would be offended
by The Muslim Countries not going, so
MY PARTY FOR THE WHOLE WORLD could never happen
and the world would remain in conflict for the rest of time.
Joanna Gilman Hyde 