A hero’s smile by Catriona Kerridge

There once was a girl, no, wait, a woman.

She was beautifully normal.

She made a lot of a little money.

Enough for her complicated yet simple life.

Her shoes were Velcro or slip-ons.

Her eyesight was clear.

 

But it was her smile.

She had a smile that spread like a disease.

Like a forest fire.

Those who reached it would eat it,

Believe it and live it for a moment.

One glint, one smile.

She would apologise to any stare or even at the air.

Her secret mission, un-noticed but felt.

Un-paid but good enough to ‘stop a fight’.

Fill empty hearts.

Notice the un-noticed and the missed.

 

Apart from her own.

One day she was gone.

Paid too little she grew thin.

Her smile cracked.

An earthquake on her face.

Her smile like a disease,

Eating away at her until she was gone.

 

The un-sung hero was never high strung.

Her smile was a Tsunami when it did seize.

But there are others that suffer the disease.

Remember to smile back at the next one.