"The After" is a collection of poems that explore the emotional landscape after love and loss. The selection of these poems reflect the navigation through life after it is forever altered. Love is why we are here, and the pain of loss - as ugly and terrifying and helpless it can make us feel - is a testament to just how deeply love connects us to each other. We all have loved and lost and will over and over again. Grief can create a wicked yet common illusion that we are alone. The hope of sharing this work is that at least one of the poems shatters this illusion for one of its readers.