the season of blame has arrived
returning as it often does after great loss
when it does
the earth cracks with fault lines
there are no sunrises no cooling breeze
only the daily scorching
that blinds almost everything
these days will pass
as they have before
when heat’s unholy memory slips away
only to return
even more frightened and angry
Sister Lou Ella Hickman is a member of the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament. She was an all level teacher and a librarian. Presently she is a freelance writer and a spiritual director. Her poems and articles have been widely published in numerous magazines. One of her poems was published in the anthology After Shocks: Poetry of Recovery for Life-Shattering Events edited by Tom Lombardo. Her first book of poetry she: robed and wordless, published by Press 53, was released in the fall.