Fever

Peter, whose name means one who takes off his shoes, thought
Petronilla too beautiful, She's not a saint--too
large--nor snow--too small--She only holds herself aloof
like something spiritual-- So he prays for her
to burn up with fever, which she does.
Her body becomes rigid, she has miraculous
elongations and swellings and a globulous hystericus,or sweet
mucous in the throat. Her father pleads with Peter to cure her, so
Peter cools her, says Petronilla, arise, make
haste to wait on us! And she gets up and moves about,
starts baking a layered cake. Peter says No, I eat naught but bread and olives and vegetables, now and again. Her father tells her to
take it easy, not so much frosting,
and she smiles, says don't worry, she's
feeling better by the pound. She is a genius, a blue
stocking, a woman who uses illness as intelligence.
She proceeds to push her fingers, stiff as nails, through her palms.
Petronilla, get back to bed--- and she goes,
back to the light, the image of Peter in negative-green
on the red of her eyelid, which she turns to brilliance,
to the Electron, the Bon-bon, the Nocturne and Love Token.