a man stole my friend's money
off the counter
and put it in his mouth
I know this
because after looking
in his wallet
and all of his pockets
and under his hat
I squeezed the sides of his face
with my thumb and fingers
as hard as I could
and when his mouth opened
the money lay like a pearl
glistening on his tongue
while my friend
pulled the money apart
with his fingertips
I handed the man his wallet
and told him
we would keep
the money in it
and his driver's license
and he got to leave