"An Epiphany": poem by Nicole Santalucia, art by David Lehman

An Epiphany

arrived in the mail today
a gouache
something poisonous
Vermilion
it couldn't be

An extension
of a poet
like orange paint
in the hands
of a mailman
traveling to
the year 1994
and then
to my mailbox
without a single
fingerprint

a poetic translation
of atomic numbers
is a splotch
of Indian Yellow
perhaps
a dot of Cobalt

-- Nicole Santalucia