by Sister Lou Ella Hickman
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what is not in the news is the invisible… those who change the channel when the nightly report begins announcing again the pop pop pop pop and showing the single file scurry under the hovering helicopter eye this is not unconcern but rather the bone weary dailyness hearing another father’s choking voice seeing another mother’s blank stare more children, more bodies riddled with lead please feel no guilt for you want to honor their story of stolen presence when you listen and watch yet tonight you just can’t and the news won’t tell you— be kind to yourself in your sorrow
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Sister Lou Ella has a master’s in theology from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio and 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, US Catholic, Commonweal, The Christian Century, Presence, Prism, and several anthologies. She was a Pushcart nominee in 2017 and 2020. “Chavah’s Daughters Speak,” five poems from her book she: robed and wordless set to music by James Lee III, has been performed in New York City and Cleveland, Ohio.