Downcast Eyes – 24th April 2026

~ shaun tenzenmen

Another woman with downcast eyes
Hands folded like origami cranes
How may she cast off her old disguise?

‘Too much’ or ‘not enough’ – no surprise
“How these things should be,” he gently feigns
Another woman with downcast eyes

She builds a fortress of compromise
Forever dragging along her chains
How may she cast off her old disguise?

Surrounded by her filial spies
Unwelcome in so many domains
Another woman with downcast eyes

In darkened corners, her silent cries
Her will to survive all that remains
How may she cast off her old disguise?

In this world, always denied the prize
That the patriarchy ascertains
Another woman with downcast eyes
How may she cast off her old disguise?

Written for GloPoWriMo 2026 Day 23:
Try your hand today at your own take on a villanelle, and have the poem end on a question.
and for dVerse Poetics – Exploring the art of Gerard Sekoto
Inspired by a Substack conversation with Sunra Rainz

Today’s Daily Stoic poem:

A Productive Use For Contempt

Look closely – everything is absurd
See things for what they really are
Hold contempt for the things you’ve heard
Because all that glitters is bizarre

12 thoughts on “Downcast Eyes – 24th April 2026”

  2. Wow, your prompt combo has resulted in a fab ekphrastic villanelle, Shaun, with a pertinent question and the way you begin with ‘another woman with downcast eyes’ that makes the reader think about all the women. I especially love the ‘hands folded like origami cranes’ and the subterfuge in ‘surrounded by her filial spies’. There’s more to this story, and I feel for her.

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  4. loved your reaction to the poem…. a story in the life of a woman… many women… i can’t help but to remember how in the 60s women burned their bras… i am sure it was out of total frustration… how far how we come is the question…

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    1. Thanks ms pie 🙏 My mother was part of that generation and was a strong independent woman who taught me what I know. From my perspective it feels like it may be two steps forward and one step back….which is slow progress.

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