Letter to Those Who Put a Hobby Lobby Where the Tribeca Barnes & Noble Used to Be

after Matthew Olzman

tell me what it’s like to take old stories 

literally, to know every word as unyielding 

truth. to exist rigid as the spine of holy 

scripture. i imagine it can’t be comfortable

bearing the weight of ancient doctrines. i imagine 

it must be hard to imagine. imagination is humoring 

the question what if? suspending disbelief 

is indulging the answer. have you ever experienced 

a plot twist so sudden you’re rendered breathless? has 

your throat constricted over the impossible choice 

of a protagonist? tell me how to willfully misunderstand

the poet’s wisdom. to discover playful metaphor 

and recoil from its charm. to believe without question

that the woman who wields a pen should be making

babies instead. to be so overwhelmed by the rainbow

bursting on the page that you feel the wrath of god 

in your soul. To crown yourself savior and clear 

the shelves. To gather wood and bring kerosine.

Miro is a writer based in NYC. Her poetry has previously been published in MEARI, Existe Magazine, and Bullshit Lit among others. She is a contributing writer with Voice Noted Music Blog under her government name Mireille Crocco. When Miro isn’t putting words on the page, you can find her lost in a book. You can connect with Miro on Instagram @mireille.c.cr