It is exceedingly difficult
to come to terms
with the facts—
someone you love
is redacted
The river continues
as though no one
were missing
The country moves toward
violet abutments
ever adjacent
to the idea we
once had of ourselves
redacted
You must listen
to what’s there
& to what’s left out
You must love too
the silk & the must
of the ash
Ed. note: "The Arson Prevention Program" is from (Creature Sounds Fade) by Shanna Compton. Black Lawrence Press, 2020. "You have to see how these poems sound in your head." — Dara Wier.