violator by Mariah Eppes

my urges border on the fanatical

and are yet no less sublime

to sit in silence in the place you live

a benign, well-mannered invader

occupying an unobtrusive part of what

i envision is an old sofa,

possibly inherited, with a worn out blanket

that smells of foreign laundry covering my knees

taking my pick—impetuous trespasser—of your books

to read them quietly from my sole position

never leaving so much as a fingerprint on the pages

i will have told no one where i’m going

and you might be able to ignore my

bodily presence; so i tell myself,

to feel less guilty for my imposition

because i know it’s the very air, the very fabric of things, that i violate

---

Mariah Eppes (she/her) is a writer in New York City. You can find more of her work around the internet and at birdbyrocket.com. She's on Twitter [@BirdByRocket] and Instagram [@bird.by.rocket].