Monday, February 21, 2011

A Smile in Space

Why do glee filled eyes and joyful smiles last so short a time?

Why do moments of this kind come so infrequent?

Sometimes those times of momentary joy come silently
They appear in quiet spaces in the oddest places
When no one is looking and it’s cloudy
the sun is slightly piercing the cumulus
touching with shadows cast on a single soul
she sits alone on a bench underneath
and amidst a conifer, maple and oak

A salient solemnity arises, encircles
papa and mama, octogenarians, sitting together
quietly with arms entwined into one another’s
staring into space, a space known only to them
She gently bends her neck resting her head on his shoulder
A sense of exasperation abounds the two of them
yet with a soft and gentle gasp of fulfillment
to their lifelong shared moments in time

A child sits next to mom on a thick patch of green grass
interspersed with golden strands and daisy caps
blowing gently in the breeze as
she turns to look at me with those large hazel blues
with a curious smile that only pure innocence could demand

If only this smile could pierce the gray of day
and cascade with shards of sunshine rays
upon those who sit alone
in the dark and cold
casting shadows of lonely souls

2 comments:

  1. Beautiful poem! I too wish our smiles could permeate the gray of everyone's days. :)

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  2. Beautiful! One never knows when a smile given to a stranger will be the difference between a day that's unbearable or not. Or, like your poem says, just smiling in general. You can't choose your circumstances, but you choose how you respond to them-a lesson I keep having to remind myself to live every day.

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