what you’re forced to call “I miss”

sadness disappears into the shag carpet
don your slippers
step gingerly
hold warm hope in your hands and
pray the spider kills itself

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Stasha Cole is a PhD student in literature at The University of Tulsa. She is also the proud editorial assistant for Nimrod International Journal. Her work has been published in Poetry South, Anodyne, Susurrus, Shadowplay, Wild Hyacinth, and elsewhere.