Virgule is also known as forward slash, and it is used in poetry to provide readers with a second option to the original meaning. In the second stanza, it could mean that the first flash could either be seen <em>on the newsprint</em> or on the speaker's <em>face</em>. In the fifth one, in provides the idea that even the time continues passing, memories still can take us back and create a then-now effect.
