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Sunday, April 09, 2017

GUNS AND THE CULTURE OF LEAD

by Sister Lou Ella Hickman


EVERYTOWN For Gun Safety


this week   last week  next week
52 weeks of stories
wherever the culture of lead will surface
out the state of rights
out of the counties called bullets
out of the senseless sensibility
where children shoot children . . .
in the home or last week in a car
it is the cult of the wild west
with its worship and fear
that any moment
these precious metals will be taken
and then the altar will be stripped bare
the senseless sensibilities will continue
the shrill voices of rights will sing on
the worship and fear will last
in 52 weeks of stories
about a disease with no cure


Sister Lou Ella Hickman 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 of 2015.