Smiles

Hunger clasps its nails around the corners of my mouth,

It drags them both together, then pulls them down south.

These wide smiles that I plaster on my lips never fade,

And some say I got bestowed upon them by cruel fate.

They seem confident that my youth wears blackout shades

While I wrote seven books of their secrets of trade.

My chest tightens as these indirect questions shoot through.

At every twist and turn I tell them something untrue.

This façade is crumbling at its sides with no one to see

Until their words paint my dark days pale ivory.

Fury traces my silhouette with bluish ashes.

One more spark, and I will pull out my finest matches.

-Jackie