Sometimes I Smile At Everyone.
You need to be warned.
On days when I can’t help it, there
seems to be this…
this…
Smile
stapled to my face.
I don’t think it is an accident but
I don’t know where it came from,
or why it insists on staying on my face.
I’ve tried to hide it
in a forest of facial hair,
in my pocket, or
on a necklace around my neck and under my shirt collar.
As a bookmark.
Once I tried to fold it up and stuff it in my sock like a boy with money but no pockets.
That was really uncomfortable.
Some people tell me to
wipe it off my face,
But no matter how much I wash, the
Smile’s still there.
I tried clamping each upturned corner
under the force of an index finger and thumb print
to yank and stretch the smile into a frown.
I tried opening both palms and
Dragging them down full cheeks to smear the smirk, but
Each time it seems a viral eruption of laughter
Pollutes the air, so I stopped.
I didn’t want to infect others.
Sometimes it happens while children play.
I think they think
I’m making funny faces at them.
Their joy pricks and tickles my cheeks turning
A stubbled desert into a lush valley with
Peaks that won’t abide.
Or a wave to ride, pushing pavement aside, I smile
Wild, tumultuous smiles at everyone.
They aren’t tame, but
They’re good. Smiles
Are security. There is peace without violence.
A quiet, calming embrace
on your face.
Now you with the drap and stony visage,
I don’t mean to give the wrong impression.
I don’t want you to think I have
feelings for you
But I don’t want you to think I have no feeling toward you.
I smile at you to say,
“You are a person. I recognize your humanity
I recognize you in this moment. Hello
in this moment.” I need you
to know you are alive. You
Need me to know I am alive.
The light inside me greets the light inside you.
This is why you smile back,
Or look puzzlingly at the odd shape between my nose and chin.
So store clerks operating registers, anyone waiting tables, if you are driving and I am walking by, if you are walking and we are crossing paths, if you hide behind sunglasses thinking maybe I won’t see your eye contact through the shade, callous neighbors, former students, greeters at Wal-Mart, friend or foe, even the person in the mirror be warned:
Sometimes I smile at everyone.
