Silhouettes in the Shade
Poetry on Perception
We remember--if we can.
🕵️♀️ ⬛ 🕵️♂️ ⬛ 🕵️ ⬛🕵️♀️ ⬛ 🕵️♂️ ⬛ 🕵️ ⬛🕵️♀️ ⬛ 🕵️♂️ ⬛ 🕵️ ⬛
She lived on the same street
Never blinked at the sound of sirens.
Said her mother taught her
Curtains tell secrets
If you watch
Silhouettes in the shade.
🕵️♀️ ⬛ 🕵️♂️ ⬛ 🕵️ ⬛🕵️♀️ ⬛ 🕵️♂️ ⬛ 🕵️ ⬛🕵️♀️ ⬛ 🕵️♂️ ⬛ 🕵️ ⬛
She called me Shadow.
Said I was born in stealth.
We crept along walls
Jumped into gardens
When neighbours weren't looking.
🕵️♀️ ⬛ 🕵️♂️ ⬛ 🕵️ ⬛🕵️♀️ ⬛ 🕵️♂️ ⬛ 🕵️ ⬛🕵️♀️ ⬛ 🕵️♂️ ⬛ 🕵️ ⬛
Then--
A scream cut short.
Movement in the window
Behind the shades.
🕵️♀️ ⬛ 🕵️♂️ ⬛ 🕵️ ⬛🕵️♀️ ⬛ 🕵️♂️ ⬛ 🕵️ ⬛🕵️♀️ ⬛ 🕵️♂️ ⬛ 🕵️ ⬛
Was it one?
Or two?
Them?
Or us?
🕵️♀️ ⬛ 🕵️♂️ ⬛ 🕵️ ⬛🕵️♀️ ⬛ 🕵️♂️ ⬛ 🕵️ ⬛🕵️♀️ ⬛ 🕵️♂️ ⬛ 🕵️ ⬛
Perhaps--
Our silhouettes.
Scaling the windows
The case is cold.
The shades are drawn.
But I still see the Shadow.
🕵️♀️ ⬛ 🕵️♂️ ⬛ 🕵️ ⬛🕵️♀️ ⬛ 🕵️♂️ ⬛ 🕵️ ⬛🕵️♀️ ⬛ 🕵️♂️ ⬛ 🕵️ ⬛
Hear it.
🕵️♀️ ⬛ 🕵️♂️ ⬛ 🕵️ ⬛🕵️♀️ ⬛ 🕵️♂️ ⬛ 🕵️ ⬛🕵️♀️ ⬛ 🕵️♂️ ⬛ 🕵️ ⬛
Scream.
Sometimes I wonder if they remember me--
Or that.
I remember--if I can.
🕵️♀️ ⬛ 🕵️♂️ ⬛ 🕵️ ⬛🕵️♀️ ⬛ 🕵️♂️ ⬛ 🕵️ ⬛🕵️♀️ ⬛ 🕵️♂️ ⬛ 🕵️ ⬛
Original poem by Michelle Liew. AI tags are coincidental.
About the Creator
Michelle Liew Tsui-Lin
Hi, i am an English Language teacher cum freelance writer with a taste for pets, prose and poetry. When I'm not writing my heart out, I'm playing with my three dogs, Zorra, Cloudy and Snowball.
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Comments (6)
So haunting!! I love the ambiguity and the word choice here :)
Excellent - loved this! Curtains DO tell secrets, great idea for the poem.
🩷
The vibe is so slick and haunting, I almost ducked reading it like I was there. Brilliantly done!! ✨
That’s me too! I remember if I can. Sometimes I wonder if forgetting is our brain’s mechanism to cope with too much stuff can overburden us. Wonderful poem, Michelle!
This sure seemed dark and creepy. Loved it!