Missing

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Missing


You gave the words strict instructions

to look both ways before crossing


the line, not to do anything you taught them

otherwise, and—above all—not to run off 


in pubescent independence and leave 

the poem tottering behind. Needless to say


the words have returned, muttering

something about how it was just there


a second ago. You've been knocking 

on every door since, begging 


for even a scrap of what they might have

heard, and doing the best you can 


to suppress the rising panic as you lose 

what’s left of this waning light.


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