Have you ever seen a smile so wide,
It hides the ache that lives inside?
A mask of joy, a practiced art,
That buries pain in every part.
It's easier, you see, to grin,
Than let the questions flood within.
"Why are you sad?" they start to pry
And truth, my friend, is hard to lie.
Why am I quiet? Why do I ache?
Why do my hands begin to shake?
Why do I feel so far, so cold?
Where did my joy, my people, go?
Where are the ones who called me light,
Who left me breaking in the night?
Where is the warmth I used to know
Why does this world now feel so low?
So I smile.
Because silence is clean.
Because sorrow's too raw to be seen.
And smiling
it keeps them at bay,
It makes the pain all fade away.
No one calls you weak when you smile,
Or says you're "too much" or "out of style."
They praise your strength, your glowing face
But never ask what's been erased.
They never see the tired fight
To smile while nothing feels quite right.
To laugh while drowning deep in fear
To hold back every burning tear.
So yes, I smile.
But let it be known:
There's death inside this gentle tone.
Not every smile is sweet and true
Some are worn
just to get through.