Replace by Susan Tepper

The house has spoken

its final words—

no complaints about

dust and disorder

the grimy kitchen sink

rumpled unmade beds

the unmentionable

bathroom conditions.

It’s the shoes—

tossed everywhere.  

I try explaining they 

replace the missing people.

Susan Tepper is the author of nine published books of fiction and poetry. Her most current titles are CONFESS (poetry published by Cervena Barva Press, 2020) and a funky road novel WHAT DRIVES MEN (Wilderness House Press, 2019) that was shortlisted at American Book Fest. Tepper has received eighteen Pushcart Prize Nominations, and other awards and honors. She's a native New Yorker. www.susantepper.com