Intimacy

1.
the way you drink water, backwashing spit into someone else’s water bottle
never stopping to wonder how much of your companion you are consuming
2.
painting your nails naked in the dark, the only light a UV lamp,
The mirror of your topcoat occasionally reflecting an eye
3.
Two strangers, whose thighs press against yours on the bus ride home
And the brief acceptance of touch you'd otherwise meet with disgust
4.
A literary magazine reassigning the meaning of your own poem 
The death of the author and the birth of synchronized chaos
5.
Scanning the feet behind bathroom stalls to find a familiar pair of shoes
Invading their sights in a room meant for privacy
6.
Trying on a shirt in the thrift store and ignoring the lipstick stain on the collar
That lines up perfectly with your mouth as you slip it over bare arms
7.
Waking up before your friends on a camping trip, realizing you’ve never seen the whole of their eyelids before, and they are beautiful.

— Kendall Snipper