The deleted scenes

hidden away, far

in the recess

of the compartment marked

as pain, of abuse, of the neglectful reel

of shame, red-faced and embarrassment

caused, we skip over those moments

and turn our heads when

the obituary notice

at the end of the night of Oscar

winning performances

is revealed; the deleted scenes

erased, erased

erased,

but never on every machine

that recorded the moment…

somewhere your deleted scene

is still being viewed.

Ian D. Hall 2018