His smile made it all ok
His charred flesh didn’t matter
I didn’t see the scars
His eyes no longer danced
Nor did they see me at all
But his smile made it all ok
His soul was full of hate
He hardly spoke to me
But on the scarce occasion
His smile made it all ok
He could no longer walk
And didn’t want kids
So they wouldn’t be ashamed
Of their crippled father
I agreed wishing I hadn’t
But he hugged me
And thanked me
And smiled
And his smile made it all ok
And years went on
And we never had kids
We never went to a graduation
Or a class play
We never got mother’s day gifts
But over the years he smiled more
And his smile made everything ok