Smile

What is this thing that causes a smile
Not the one on your face, but the one in your heart?
The one that is warm and so full of life
To kindle this smile is there some kind of art?
I look all around me and see smiles of all kinds
Upturned mouths that say much of what’s on their minds.
The smile that is given as though it’s a chore
And the smile that says “Dear, you could be so much more.”
The vacant eyed one that hurts more than it helps
Or the tight one that seems more like a yell.
The smile with a slap as you’re stabbed in the back
Please tell me what is it that all these smiles lack?
Where is the warmth that comes with good cheer
What is the thing that causes such fear…….
Is it so hard to reach out and give a small part
Of the warmth and the love that you feel in your heart?
Must it always be judged by the praise that you need
Is it all just a matter of personal greed?
Love has a smile that knows no real bounds
It flows outward freely and follows the sounds
Of the life-beat of others, their needs and their cries
And the smile it produces, it reaches your eyes.
This is the smile that I so want to wear,
The one that speaks clearly to the fact that I care
For each inspiration is a gift given back
And really enriches my soul’s hollow lack.
Perhaps if I smile from the heart, and I give
One of these days I may learn how to live.