How Many Smiles in a Day? A Poem

How Many Smiles in a Day?

How many smiles do you count in a day?

The ones you receive or the smiles you return

Sent like arrows shot in one direction

woven by Cupid to brighten your day

…

Smiles are curves we make with our mouths

But they come from the passion we feel in our hearts

Some are polite and some are erratic

Some insincere and returned out of habit

…

But whether it’s forced, it’s the least you can do

It takes no great effort and they cover the blues

Though fake smiles look painful, it’s only because

You wish could smile and truly be happy

…

If I could count the number of smiles

That fly by my way as I drive many miles

I’d find they outnumber whatever you ponder

I tried but lost count as I began to wonder

How so many smiles can be taken for granted?

No one is forced or rebuked for withholding

But each smile is chosen if even out of politeness

…

I wake up to her smile and it greets me each morning

The same one that puts me to bed in the evening

It’s special to me because I don’t deserve it

Her smile means everything and I hope she knows it

…

My four little ones smile more than they cry

It hurts to focus more on their tears

If I could feel as strongly with each smile they give me

I know I’d love wiser when they displease me

…

When do smiles lose their meaning?

They’re learned as a baby from mama and papa

Children will smile to show they are happy

Grownups will smile to hide they’re unhappy

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I don’t mean to trample on other people’s smiles

I just want to mean it when I give a smile

I want to cherish every attempt

To show a little kindness by the curve of two lips

…

I want to absorb the happiness they display

I want to mirror and feel what they feel

No more will I ever ignore a smile

Even if they don’t pause to see me return it

…

A smile is as much for me as it is for the other

So now I will smile to show what I should be

Happy to be living where people still smile

Even if it’s only to be polite

…

That means that people still smile at their babies

They come from a place where joy can be found

Though it may be forgotten it still exists

The joy is remembered with each and every smile