Shan'T Poem by Windsor Guadalupe Jr

I picked up
The whole dash
Of tulips
That broke
Into a peal
Of whispers

I picked up
A pair of
Wooden-tipped
Shoes to tremble
Lightly
Upon the floor

I listen to the
Whirs of the
Fan engine’s gears
At night. And
How morbid
It was when
The sounds briefly
Pause.

It was like
Listening to a choir
Singing a story
Of how I’d die.

I picked up everything
From
Hair
To breaths
To foot steps,
Shoes,
Petals,
Dead photographs
Until there was
Nothing left
To pick
Up.

I knew delight
Once -

I shan’t let
This
Acquaintance
Happen again.