"How to be Alone" By April Klooster

This poem is not mine. My roommate, April Klooster, wrote it. It is bittersweet, and should be shared:

How to be Alone

Take his picture down

But that is not enough

Not for this one

You must also turn off all the lights.

This will keep his shadow from contrasting with the brightness

The way his darkness 

Used to clash against the lightness in your heart.

Don’t forget to close the window

So you won’t hear his voice in the breeze

When it passes the trees and sings to you,

A melancholy song

Another song of guilt.

Finally, take down your mirror

That is all you can do

About the way your face

Is a picture of the mark he left on your heart.

-April Klooster

February 2014