A Fold of Sun

We decided I
should go alone
on foot. I   
 
would find
him in
the pharmacy. If      
 
he said ‘In
the head of
God all propositions     
 
have existed     
always,’ we would make     
the exchange.
 
He was standing     
in front of the      
calamine lotion.
 
He spoke to the
air. I slipped   
the envelope into

his pocket and    
bought a topical      
analgesic to

avoid suspicion.       
When I left, I            
had a face     

again, could open
an account, drink          
coffee in the

sun. On the street two     
women talked      
of money. I paid them

no mind. I     
could now always       
walk with my light

to the front.  

Copyright © 2016 by Magdalena Zurawski. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on June 21, 2016, by the Academy of American Poets.