a frozen smile
you are never without
your face carved from putty
that has hardened overnight

you smile at hardship
    disease
          molestation
  brutality
    ignorance
  and pain

just as you smile at purity
   love
         innocence
   and joy

you're forever unchanged
   unhurt
       unfazed
& unemotional

for this is how you've chosen
to face the world
   with a ceramic smile
that can't be touched
leading you to believe
you are invincible.