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| Drawing by Asia Johnson-Brimmage of MICDS for the 100 Neediest Cases campaign of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 12, 2018 |
so it begins
insanity at its finest
the mall clerk warns
fa la la car radios blare
during this most wonderful time of the year
unfortunately not everybody gets the message
and ads visualize all the latest must haves
ring the salvation army bell
the newspaper blares those in need
while choirs come to sing
assisted living et al
and a large screen cindy lou repeats this year to mr. grinch
no one should be alone on Christmas
of course donations are gratefully accepted
who would turn down paying
for a month or two
maybe even three of bills
so it ends
duty called
answered
with i did my part
months later while vacation dozes
july also marks the faces of the poor
Sister Lou Ella Hickman is a former teacher and librarian. She is a certified spiritual director as well as a poet and writer. Her poems have appeared in numerous magazines such as America, First Things, Emmanuel, Third Wednesday, and TheNewVerse.News as well as in the anthologies The Night’s Magician: Poems about the Moon, edited by Philip Kolin and Sue Brannnan Walker, Down to the Dark River edited by Philip Kolin, Secrets edited by Sue Brannan Walker and After Shocks: The Poetry of Recover for Life-Shattering Events edited by Tom Lombardo. Last year she was nominated for the Pushcart Prize. Her first book of poetry entitled she: robed and wordless was published by Press 53 in 2015.