Preferential Treatment

The Censor uses the black crayon

to eradicate sex. On payday, he takes

his wife and son to Shake Shack. Whatever

you want, the Censor says to his wife

when she asks what she should have.

The Censor crosses provide for your family

off of the list he keeps tucked in his billfold. To track

the time, the Censor sings You Are My Sunshine twice

while his son brushes his teeth. The boy shows the glass

his shining mouthstones and growls. He is a bear. No,

he is a boy. In the boy’s drawings, the zebras

are purple and white. His mother hangs

them on the fridge. What beautiful horses,

the Censor says. His wife’s wit trembles, then ebbs.

The children’s nails are clogged with black wax.