41

The smile

A poem about checking in with your loved ones

You can tell by their eyes they are haunted,

Home to a presence severely unwanted,

Lips stretched wide, cheeks tense and plump,

Planning that night to take the jump.

Feel the wind crash against their face

In the hope of arriving at a more peaceful place.

They are funny – they always were,

Using playfulness as their protective armour,

Building it and building it until they crack inside.

It’s never a long-lasting place to hide.

How can they look so happy? I can’t understand why?

The ones with the loudest laugh can be the quietest to cry.

Watch out for those ones – they whisper silently,

Often suffering in this bitter irony.

Check up on that friend you haven’t seen in a while,

The one who always wears a magnificent smile –

They may have needed you in that very moment

To save them from their soul they would have otherwise broken.