an after-harvest during the 1950’s

Sister Lou Ella Hickman

August 3, 2025

it was the after-harvest time of fallen fruit

the fuzzy golden orbs of peach country in north texas

for a dollar a car we could enter a stranger’s orchard

and pick up as much as we wanted

or as much as our bags and boxes could carry

to another harvest 

a kitchen  cloves and mason jars

then shelved among the bottled pickled okra  asparagus 

and pearl onions 

until

the first north texas cold 

retrieved the final harvest of golden fruit

for a midnight feast

Sister Lou Ella Hickman, OVISS is a former teacher and librarian whose writings have appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies. Press 53 published her first book of poetry in 2015 entitled she: robed and wordless. She was nominated for the Pushcart Prize in 2017 and in 2020.