The Smile

A poem originally written 04/05/17

How can one person’s smile
light up your world?
From the top of your head, to your
tippy toes and back
to your heart
as a smile forms, lips curling upwards
Into a cheshire cat grin. His smile
that beams bright, like the sun,
as its warmth radiates over you.
Then you realize it:
The one thing you dread
Is now true and has been
Deep in your heart
You knew, yet denied it.
And now, your heart
That which you hold dear
Doesn’t belong to you anymore.
Your heart. Which knows
That his doesn’t belong to you, but another.
Your heart, that sinks down in a pit
Knowing that this won’t happen
Wallows in sadness
And then stops. Because it has been there before.
It knows how to shut off, shut out, and harden
Like a diamond, shielding,
Protecting what is within.
A precious gem, that no one
may have or hold,
Locked away in the dark,
for safekeeping.
Now, your heart is festooned
With the red strings, both
pain and joy. Take pleasure in
the pain. For that means that you still live
And that this heart still beats.
Waiting.