Introducing a new series of poems by Julian Matthews. Julian is a writer and Pushcart-nominated poet published in The American Journal of Poetry, Autumn Sky Poetry Daily, Borderless Journal, Beltway Poetry Quarterly, Dream Catcher Magazine, Live Encounters Magazine, Lothlorien Poetry Journal and The New Verse News, among others. He is a mixed-race minority from Malaysia and lived in Ipoh for seven years. Currently based in Petaling Jaya, he is a media trainer and consultant for senior management of multinationals on Effective Media Relations, Social Media and Crisis Communications. He was formerly a journalist with The Star and Nikkei Business Publications Inc
Link: https://linktr.ee/julianmatthews
By Julian Matthews
Full glass panels, she insisted
So we can see the grand view outside
Then ordered curtains and rods and hooks
So strangers can’t be baited to peek inside
Three sets to alternate annually
Emery linen, crushed velvet
Pinch pleated and twin panel pairs
and a blackout one to block out the sun
For the bay window bathroom, she opted for blinds
But they still required dusting and cleaning
Over time, slats refused to flip, strings snapped
You tilt and pull, twist and shout
Had we known when young, blinds
and bling are just window dressing
for a shaded world, that all the ladder-climbing
and laundering could not wash away the tears
That hearts don’t come with drapery
That all that matters is the light within
Then maybe, just maybe, as the curtain call draws near
We could have held on tighter to the cords unraveling–
in the house we once called home
Second place winner, Story-in-a-Poem Contest, The Wunderbarn, Pennsylvania, USA
