For the Woman Who Has Lost Her Smile

© Tammy Sanders

Why is it so hard to smile?

I've seen young women with a permanent frown.

What battle are you fighting?

Do you feel as if you are going to drown?

I guess I just wonder what happened to happiness.

Has life sucked all of your joy?

Is life really so bad that you can't look people in the eye?

Again, I ask, why is it so hard to smile?

What happened to her I wonder?

What stories would she tell?

In her youth, she was jubilant

Expectant of things to come,

Were dreams dashed?

Did she run?

Then, life got heavy.

A husband lost his job, 

A friend moved away.

The woman became silent,

A shell of herself,

Only doing what was necessary, 

Nothing more, nothing less.

It wasn't a conscious decision,

It just sort of happened,

Her legs dragged and posture drooped

And then one day, her smile left.

She steeled herself against the storm,

Ignoring the questions and prying eyes,

She carried on, she would pass this test.

So until you can smile again,

Here's what I'll do,

I can't offer you money or rainbows,

And I don't know when the sun will shine,

But I have something that will not fade 

Even on your hardest days

I give you my smile, my hope, 

My faith that it will all be okay.