Middlearth

Smiling through

when the day starts dark

i wake up with the smile already painted on

ready to act the part

 

follow the daily groove

moving robotically through the morning

Let the routine soothe 

 

the pain that tries to crack

this fragile exterior that’s straining at the edges

as what’s inside starts to fight back 

 

the confusion of what to feel

that starts to drag away that painted smile

Giving glimpses of the raw, the real.