She Smiles

She smiles

Like she doesn’t feel

The weight of

Expectations 

On her shoulders

She smiles

As if she didn’t 

Spend last night

Crying in her room

Slowly breaking

And then picking

Up her pieces

All alone

She smiles

Like she isn’t

Seconds away

From crumbling 

And falling to the floor

In the girls bathroom

At school

She smiles

As if her brain

Isn’t full of worries

Slowly eating away

Working their way

Into her heart

She smiles

Big and bright

And everyone believes

Her smile

Everyone believes

She is

Happy

Carefree

Perfect

She smiles 

But sometimes

Sometimes she wishes

She didn’t 

Sometimes she wishes

Someone saw through 

Her little act 

And tell her

She doesn’t have to be strong 

She can stop smiling