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Submission Guidelines: Send 1-3 unpublished poems in the body of an email (NO ATTACHMENTS) to nvneditor[at]gmail.com. No simultaneous submissions. Use "Verse News Submission" as the subject line. Send a brief bio. No payment. Authors retain all rights after 1st-time appearance here. Scroll down the right sidebar for the fine print.

Friday, December 27, 2024

SADLY, NO ONE HAS NOTICED

by Sister Lou Ella Hickman


AI-generated graphic by NightCafĂ© for The New Verse News.



during this past terrible season of pain
with its headlines and news stories
of voice gun metal cacophony

the screams
becoming louder and longer
            
the plague of words
feeding on each other
a frenzy of fear…

sadly, no one has noticed
hope’s sacred pity
as she kneels weeping
amid the carnage


Sister Lou Ella Hickman, OVISS is a former teacher and librarian whose writing appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies. Her first published book of poetry is she: robed and wordless (Press 53, 2015) and her second, Writing the Stars (Press 53, 2024). She was nominated for the Pushcart Prize in 2017 and in 2020. Using five poems from her first book, James Lee III composed “Chavah’s Daughters Speak” first performed at 92Y in New York City.