Summary
After purchasing the book for his friend Patsy, the speaker buys for his friend Mike a bottle of Strega, an Italian liqueur, from the Park Lane liquor store. Then, the speaker backtracks to 6th Avenue, to the tobacconist in the Ziegfield Theater. Here, he asks for two cartons of French cigarettes—Gauloises and Picayunes—and a copy of New York Post. The speaker sees Billie Holiday's face on the front page.
Analysis
Until line 25, this stanza resembles the others: the speaker does this, goes here, buys something for a friend. Holiday's face on the cover of New York Post, presumably beneath a headline announcing her death, becomes the most significant moment of the poem so far, because it provides an occasion for change, pause, and reflection. The speaker is forced to slow down and digest the news he has learned. We get the impression that the speaker's entire world, for the moment, has stopped turning.
