Immerse yourself without pretense. Disguise
the wilderness you crave. Behind barbed wire,
what you despise, arranged as in a painting,
courts a fire you’ve never seen. You wonder
if you’ll ever speak again, if guilt burns.
The survivor in you claims regret, releases
back to all the men whose sacrifice
you choose to bear the thanks you’ve hoarded. Women
rise, welcoming; the river overflows;
but those faces on the canvas will not speak.
Their heaven can’t contain the words you seek.