Smile

An old group snapshot, which I assume
To be circa Inferno, Carolina Crown:

Your hair is light in color, from
Days spent in the sun
And the camera flash.

Flushed cheeks, a sunburned face.

Your smile is the thing that gets me.
Wide, warm, and sunny
Parentheses framing either side—

That smile is my favorite thing.

That smile has a way of ruining me.

 

-x-

“Smile” was first read at PoetSpeak in Rolla, Missouri on April 21st, 2018.