Smile

You there—

Raising your lips

Pinning them to your cheeks

They bulge and hide your eyes

Rows of white exposed

You ask me why

I do not do the same

You speak—

Here they are

Enjoy

This is to tell you I am content

I like life I like my life

It is good to me He is good to me

Whoever he is

I am lucky

And I am stable

And so—

With reluctance

Here are my white rows

My busting cheeks

My bright red encasement

Framing my ivory towers

Here is what is left of my sight

My pupils strain to peek over these rounds

And yet—

I feel these obstructed realms

Of light, these cradles of color

Say so much more in the way

They are held there

Then these perfect sets of precision

These lined up little beauties

Could ever get across