It’s wet paint
It’s an artifact at the science and history museum
It’s frosted birthday cupcakes

A piece of candy on the floor
A dead mouse
A hot pan

Rows of glass on the dishware shelf at Target
Electric fence
Sand art

Don’t touch that!

It’s a fight about money
It’s a friend’s anger at God
It’s a memory that twists my stomach

A mother’s embarrassment
A father’s shame
A hospital bill

God as feminine
Donald Trump
LGBTQIA+

Don’t touch that!

It’s a papery hornet nest
It’s a snake sunning on a rock
It’s a spiderweb

A cup overflowing
A polished concert grand piano
A fragile seedling

Perfect place setting, with folded-napkin swan
“Emergency Call” button in the elevator
Picnic leftover, buzzing flies

Don’t touch that!

It’s weight gain
It’s addiction
It’s a black eye

A cousin in jail
A protruding (pregnant?) belly
A brother-in-law in rehab, again

Extramarital affair
Ex-girlfriend
Was grandma “saved” or did she die an atheist?

Don’t touch.