From a young age, I have been told,
that to see a smile will never get old.
Whether one is happy or perhaps sad;
the moment they smile- nothing can be bad.

From a young age, I have been told to smile,
that the moment I do, I'll stop feeling down.
If I want to cheer up, then I must grin;
so why, when I try, do I feel like I've sinned?

To smile means expressing joy, she says,
that those around me will feel coy, she says.
But when she feels sad, she cries and cries,
behind a closed door, there are tears in her eyes.

When I realised that her grin was her way,
of making me calm- a way to stay.
I began to smile more, laugh more, try more;
It's the least I can do for those I adore.

Then one day, whilst I felt melancholy,
someone managed to see right through me.
"Your upset, so why are you smiling?",
I looked down and felt my face frowning.

"From a young age, I have been told,
that to see a smile will never get old.
Whether one is happy or perhaps sad;
the moment they smile- nothing can be bad"

They seemed confused, so I smiled again,
I won't lie, it hurt more right then-

"From a young age, I have been told to smile,
that the moment I do, I'll stop feeling down.
If I want to cheer up, then I must grin;
so why, when I try, do I feel like I've sinned?"

They shed tears for me,
I didn't understand,
wasn't a smile meant to make them feel grand?

"Smile", she once said.
"Just for a while", she once begged.
I wish I did before she cried,
maybe she'd have felt better, that's why.

So when someone tries to hide behind a smile,
make sure they know, pain will last for awhile,
but save those smiles for times of fun;
that way you may grow to feel less numb.

"Smile", she said,
"I want to cry", she meant.
Won't lie, my head would spin,
however I would still give her a grin.