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| Coalition for the Homeless |
there are thousands of gaping holes now
and there will be too many more
spaces once filled with art music love
such a long list of griefs
a census list too long
doctors
nurses
parents
friends
priests
sisters
as well as the other invisible
hospital cleanup crews
sanitation workers
truckers
stock boys
cashiers of every stripe
then there is the government’s own:
the workers of neither rain or shine
delivering our mail
those who served
the never counted away invisible
the homeless addicts prisoners . . .
each and every empty space
a sterling silver invitation
a call a challenge
to those who will come after
to fill these gaping holes
with the sacred earth of their lives
Sister Lou Ella Hickman, I.W.B.S. is a certified spiritual director whose poems and articles have appeared in numerous magazines and journals as well as four anthologies. She was nominated for the Pushcart Prize in 2017. Her first book of poetry entitled she: robed and wordless (Press 53) was published in 2015.
