the woman in the window

you lived in a townhouse once
where the woman
across the small fenced
yard
would undress, shower,
return
and towel herself down
with the blinds open.
you had the feeling she knew
she was putting on a show
for the line of houses
behind hers.
you didn't want to watch.
you wanted to watch.
you told your roommate
Sheila, who pulled a chair
in each night
to watch with you.
this led to nothing.
there was no talk,
other than to say, surely
she must know
that people can see her.
one day the woman moved,
and not long after that Sheila
got a boyfriend
and was gone too.
you shut blinds, all the blinds
in your house, strangely
blue.