The smile I see reflected back at me
can not be mine, I know.
For long ago
I stitched my lips
and drained my skin of glow.

The laughter in the pool’s ripples,
is not my mirth, you see-
For I don’t laugh,
at least not anymore,
and my eyes are all but empty.

My reflection does not reflect me,
for it’s just a mask I wear.
I smile and laugh,
and play along well,
but it’s a heavy disguise to bear.

The smile I see reflected back at me
is my golden gag, the slickest scheme-
for beneath the layers
of smiles and shine
warbles a lonely and chilling scream.