A Poem by Sister Lou Ella Hickman, OVISS

A Contemplative Suggestion for a Tourist Visiting an Oak and Maple Forest

november
a strange month of shadows
yet one with its plain light gilding red and gold. . .
then notice how its light slants . . .
watch the heave of breath called wind
between the simple  open spaces between the leaves
become this breath   this light
breathe glided red and gold
during your walk in november

Sister Lou Ella Hickman is a widely published poet and a member of the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament of Corpus Christi, Texas. Her book she: robed and wordless was published in 2015 as a Tom Lombardo Poetry Selection, an imprint of Press 53. It can be ordered here. Her article on the experience of having her poetry set to the music of composer James Lee III was recently featured in Today’s American Catholic.

Image: Jean-François Millet, Autumn Landscape with Flock of Turkeys, 1872-73.