There was no smile
inside the gilded frame.
Fashionable wall of solitude,
the mirror forgot
to show that detail.

If she turned around,
iconlike,
could the eyes of strangers
reflect a mere intention
no longer on her face?

Somehow, she thought,
the smile had vanished
between her frozen belly
and her fair but fickle gaze.

Yet in the dark stairs,
an attentive listener
would distinguish the feline steps
of a thief on the run.

For every missing smile,
there might be a receiver
of stolen goods
- somewhere -
in a damp hiding place.