Miss you. Would like to watch the news with you.
after Gabrielle Calvocoressi
Would love to hear your voice in the morning.
Want to hear you talking to your sisters on the phone.
Miss you. Would like to watch the news with you.
Wish you were sitting on the couch. Want to hear you
tell me about the weather in Georgia. Miss you
in your gray nightgown. Would love to sit with you.
Want to read you a poem about horses. I’ll make you
a pot of coffee. I’ll fry some eggs, burn some bacon
in the oven. We can sit together and watch the morning news.
Miss you. Never thought you would leave. Wish you
were here. Want to make you laugh. Would love to sit
between your legs. Want you to braid my hair,
grease my scalp. Wish you would hit me with a comb.
You would hate to see what your country has become.
Miss you. Stay where you are. I’ll write to you
Z. T. Corley is a Tennessee-based poet with roots in Georgia, South Carolina, and Mississippi. She recently graduated from Austin Peay State University with a BA in English and she will be an MFA Candidate at Georgia College & State University starting in Fall 2026. She is a recipient of the 2026 AWP Intro Journal Awards Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Revolute, Calalloo, Quarterly West, Kitchen Table Quarterly, Kawandi Magazine, and elsewhere. She is currently working on a poetry collection while serving as a reader for Callaloo.