An Added Grace

Abstract

An Added Grace Jeanette W. Stickel (bio) I've passed an oak treebeside a stream—with rootswinding through rocky soil in search of water. I've seen itas the seasons change. Whenit's struck by summer's flare it doesn't whither, and in winterwhen the limbs are bare, its dignityremains. Some branches low and wide-spread, others twisting high—they lace the moonlit sky at night,the ground below when the sunis bright—the shadowsan added grace. [End Page 342] Jeanette W. Stickel Jeanette W. Stickel is a poet, speech/language therapist and author of several children's books, including the award-winning Mama's Needle. Her poems have appeared in Sojourners, Fathom, Ekstasis, and Todd Point Review. One of her poems will be included in a forthcoming anthology by Wiseblood Books; she received a first-place award for a small collection of poems at the Mendocino Writers Conference. Copyright © 2023 Johns Hopkins University Press