my texas poetry assignment: feeding texas

Sister Lou Ella Hickman

October 4, 2026

after a certain sunday evening gathering

i will send my donation

a small envelope holding a smaller bit of cash

as rent for my time and space

to sit with my tribe, a circle of poets

this small dot helps pay for bagged words that taste like food

that will become spoken poems for the voiceless

                 a circle of families with children

           those invisible poets

         filled with ancient stories

Sister Lou Ella Hickman, OVISS writings have appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies. Press 53 published her first book of poetry in 2015 entitled she: robed and wordless and her second, Writing the Stars on October 4, 2024. She was nominated for the Pushcart Prize in 2017 and 2020.  She was also nominated for the Best of the Net in 2026.