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The Eyes of Women
by Maria Mazziotti Gillan

The eyes of women over forty
are smudged with shadows.
Even the blonde woman,
slender and tall,
bears the deep thumbprint
of sorrow.

I notice, suddenly, in men over forty
an absence of shadow. Men seem younger,
less frayed at the edges.

Sisters, our smudged eyes
are the chain that links us
as we bend to fit our men;
learn early to smile and please,
to smooth surfaces with our calm hands.

From The Weather of Old Seasons (Cross-Cultural Communications 1993)

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