Pinched

Noel Sloboda

Yesterday I spied

a boy stealing books —

he couldn’t have been 14 —

volumes of Kafka

stuffed under his shirt,

no regard

for clerks or cameras,

and I wanted to say

something about laws,

author rights or libraries;

found only emptiness

inside my mouth;

remembered when I

wanted words

enough to put myself

on the line to

take them

home.

 
 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
 
 

 
 
 
Noel Sloboda lives in Pennsylvania, where he teaches at Penn State York and serves as dramaturg for the Harrisburg Shakespeare Festival. He is the author of the poetry collection,  Shell Games (sunnyoutside, 2008). 
 
 
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