A Simple Smile

By John Herlihy

I once knew a friend with a simple smile,

A simple smile that never left him alone.

His smile a permanent fixture all the while,

As if protecting a secret he needed to atone.

Over the years, his appearance always changed,

Yellowed teeth, chapped lips, aging grew bold.

But that smile on his face still neatly arranged,

I knew there was a mystery never to be told.

We know from experience that people change,

Not for a minute do we think we stay the same.

Life puts things on us that we consider strange,

Embedded in our features as symbols of blame.

I don’t mean to exaggerate, the smile was faint,

A kind of hint or suggestion, like a shade of light.

You would never expect from him any complaint.

Does day ever make a complaint against night?

Going against the grain, doing wrong, just didn’t fit,

This didn’t seem to match up with his simple smile.

From deep in his being, he kept his sense of wit,

His smile always lent his behavior a certain style.

His simple smile never changed and never would,

He wore it like an emblem with a certain pride.

Its mystery some lasting feature of all he should,

As though a thing sacred were taken from inside.