How do you hold a smile,
when your attitude starts to chill?
When your face wants to frown,
when you're picking yourself off the ground.
When life has dealt the fixed deck,
and
right from the beginning you were a wreck?
There you stand in check,
next move, checkmate,
so goes your fate,
if you don't strongly relate.

Checkmate from the start,
almost broke my heart.
I knew I was beat,
had been knocked off my feet.
I held a smile like a fool,
it was all I had left as a joy tool,
as life taught me in its hard knock school.

For years I laughed on the outside,
but hid my pain on the inside.
I'm still doing it to this day,
and
I'll continue until I pass away.
It's the only joy I have left,
I'll take a smile to my death.

Not an easy task,
to walk under a mask.
Then again life isn't easy,
at time it gets sleazy.
I'm use to doing the hard,
playing the best card.

Why don't I just give up,
let my smile fall corrupt?
Many times I have let the frown win,
then I reach for my smile again.
It warms my troubled heart,
keeps me from falling apart.

When I hear someone say,
"that's not funny," when I laugh,
I maybe smiling on our behalf.
Maybe to keep the peace,
same thing I do to keep my monster on a lease.

Smiling calms the wild beast,
doesn't give him a chance to feast.
Devils also hate the smile,
they would rather see you file.
God gave us joy,
as a tool to enjoy.

No matter how hard life gets,
the smile has my bets.
I'll gamble all my money on it.

I will not quit!

G