§ self delusion is not an optical illusion

A faint outline. A tense swell beneath the smooth fall of fabric.

Under that carelessly pressed blouse I saw I saw I saw what I saw, what can only be, must be,

A knife handle?

You saw a smile I tell myself. You saw a smile, A smile, A smile.

I concentrated, made myself see only the hard upturned press of lips, not the curved handle of a knife.