VEILED

 

Invisible as gods, the women

of Jodhpur palace must have enjoyed

this private world, the breeze

through the riddle, the gossip about

 

the goings-on below. They gazed

down at the courtyards through these jalis,

screens of red sandstone

carved so they could see out,

but not be seen.

 

Sometimes, even though I know you well,

your eyes are jalis; you

behind them smiling, your world veiled

as it needs to be,

whispered through windows of stone.

 

 

George Such teaches academic writing at Lee College in Baytown, Texas. His creative writing has appeared in Arroyo Literary Review, Blue Mesa Review, Cape Rock, DislocateEvansville Review, and many other literary journals.

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