the house that elizabeth bishop built

Sister Lou Ella Hickman

October 4, 2022

There’s nothing at all complicated, she explained, it’s like making a map. 

e. b. commenting on how she writes poetry 

i 

this was the house that elizabeth built 

who drew the maps to find the bricks 

who used the bricks to write her poems 

ii 

this was the house that elizabeth built

where walls and floors and rooms were shadows 

and was never a home 

this was the house that elizabeth built 

who closed the curtains 

but not quite the door 

iii 

this was the house that elizabeth built 

the books she read, the music she played, the food she cooked 

that was never a home 

hers were the stories that became the house 

that stood on the street etched on the map 

she drew for her travels 

iv 

this was the house where she loved her loves 

how she chose to live where she wrote her life 

this was the house that elizabeth built 

that was never a home 

Sister Lou Ella Hickman, I.W.B.S. 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.