The pathetic, fleeting “smile” on my lips
Is not a lie for your sake.
No, it’s my failed attempt
At beautiful self-deception
You are happy!
See, you’re smilingsmilingsmiling!
Lips curved up like a barely-there sliver of moon.
It’s okay, really!
How can it work, though,
When I cannot see my face
With no mirror to reflect
My physical being?
And, if I were to gaze
Into a mirror,
To study the cheap mask I wear
It would be too forced…
And I could certainly not forget then
That this all just a game—
My emotions (for ages 10+)
—and I am losing.
