The Man Behind the Shower Curtain 
Julie Mullany
He's our devil in decaying armor, the modern day cannibal, the suspect
neighbor, the psycho Santa, the prank caller, the bad cop, the slow-passing
car, the 4:00 am phone call, the disguised cableman, the shadow at the end
of the hall, the man on the corner, the man in the alley, the man behind
you, the too friendly landlord, the noise you can't trace, the armed
intruder, the unarmed intruder, the gut feeling, the unrecognizable knock, the
unashamed eye contact, the uncomfortable silence, the lone swinger in the
park, the suit and tie man watching on the beach, the touchy priest, the
slow working house painter, the all-too-regular customer, the pushy date,
the dark shaded flasher, the soft spoken child molester, the eyes at the
window, the man lying in the back seat of your car, the Boogie man, the one
walking in your attic, the unlocked door, the ransacked apartment, the
disconnected phone, the fear in your own home, the unfunny clown, the
chummy drunk, the coach you couldn't trust, the two-faced stepfather, the
jogger following your path, the stranger who knows your name.
Julie Mullany will receive her MA in literature in May 1999 from
Creighton University in Omaha. She has been published in
Shadows, Creighton's Literary and Art Magazine and has won a 1st place and
2nd place prize in two consecutive Creighton poetry competitions sponsored
by the Academy of American Poets. She has also been enrolled in several
writing workshops at Creighton, including the graduate level workshop
of which she's currently a part .
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