“A man should never know a woman’s secret life; men cannot stand so much reality. Their fragile egos can’t cope. It’s like they say in Zimbabwe: men are children and women are mothers. Being a child is about innocence, about not knowing the realities that adults deal with every day. Men just don’t know the world of women.”

The story’s narrator, a deceased wife, talking about giving her blind husband her eyes to see the world, makes a keen observation in the aforementioned paragraph. Can You Wear My Eyes by Kalamu ya Salaam is an insightful, thought-provoking short story that is included in the groundbreaking speculative fiction anthology Dark Matter edited by Sheree Renee Thomas.

Do we really know each other?  That is the question the author seems to get at. Even though the appearance to the outside world is in line with what society accepts. Also, do we as human beings have restless natures? A lot to ponder with this story.  This shows the power of fiction, being able to step outside of everyday life and use a story to illuminate our deepest desires.

What happens when love is given unconditionally from one side of a marriage and not the other? This issue is not uncommon and reveals the imbalance that human partnerships face. I have to admit that this short story touched me and I believe it should be required reading for couples that are going through premarital counseling.

Can You Wear My Eyes is the second best short story I’ve read in 2022 and joins Galapago by Kali Fajardo-Anstine from the Sabrina & Corina short story collection as stories that should be taught in high schools and colleges around the country.