Tell me about this life you live behind the curtain…
What stories do your eyes write behind your curtain?
Sister, is this a vignette prowling in stealth or
A tragedy hemming life in behind the curtain?
Is it more freeing to watch life from the window than
The women you watch wandering outside the curtain?
Is this my emancipation, this life of grind that
Makes me batten strangers' pockets outside the curtain?
What eyes befall you, what tales go unheard, as you watch
Men dictate your experiences from the curtain?
Do you ever have to shed the skin that you wear
Or fend off eyes lurking, peeking through your curtain?

Tashfia Ahmed is a teacher at Scholastica and a contributor for Star Books and Literature. You can reach her at her Instagram, @tashfiarchy, or her email, [email protected].