handprints on the sheers

i replace the curtains
in the front window because there's
a half a pound of brown make up
streaked
on the sheers from when the previous
tenant would look
out the window
to see if i had left or not
so that she could do whatever
secretive things
she was doing when i wasn't there.
i tried warm water, cold water,
soap. i scraped, i rubbed. i wiped.
i tried everything to get her
hand prints off the curtains
and the sheers,
but nothing worked.
so i bought new ones, just like
the old ones.
i wondered how she ever got all
that junk off her face
at night.
whew. it was a little thing,
but just another part of a long
exhausting nightmare.