Shards of Glass

So poised,

You wear a perfect smile

Great pretender

At least for now.

You're safe when no emotion shows

For who can judge

If no one knows?

But hidden there,

Beneath your poise,

Lies all the hurt

A deafening noise

That yells and screams

It's cold as ice

But it's your strength

Your sacrifice.

I've heard you say

No one can see what lies inside

What's underneath

All the pretense

The perfect smile.

But I can see.

I've walked that mile.

Your faith and trust

Like barren lands, or

Shards of glass

Within your hands.

Yet life goes on as

We pretend

There's nothing wrong.