Unbidden, my fingers stole out to touch the bands at his wrist. I wanted to unravel them, to feel the frayed edges under the pads of my thumbs, to untighten the knots and see how long they dangled before falling to the floor. Poet’s pupils flared. The black wells dilated and swallowed his irises, a second before those orbs dimmed like snuffed candlelight. At which point, a protective shadow darkened his mien.
