Yellow-Sour Smile

I see through feigned smiles;

fogged glass wiped clear

with sweater sleeves,

your grin thin

flimsy

forced

I see the way your eyes

dim

birthday candles

blown,

extinguished,

yellow speckled sparks

to smoke

Your smile is

citrus

lemon-sour, twitching

to

fall

I’ll lift the zester

to your lips, cake batter

mixed, baked and

swirled

in merigold whirls

Whispers over coffee

cream over ice, blonde

mushroomed

through brown--

golden,

metamorphosed

our mugs leave

butterscotch rings,

your tears show

lilac undereyes

dripping,

cheek to chin

I see through your smile

when you laugh,

call your eyebags

Prada

when the pearl-pink slits

in your nerve-bitten lips

e x p a n d

like egg shell

cracks,

your nail beds

raw, ivory-gnawed

tusk to peach,

a pit stashed

in your pocket,

rubbed

like a rabbit’s foot.

I see through your smile

when I’m stung

by the bees

swarming

your honeycomb head,

pinched

when I prod

pricked

when I persist.

I’ll cut the cake,

serve it with lemon seeds

in candied slices,

amber-preserved;

curled sugar peels

for garnish

and when the coffee’s gone,

I pour tea.

I see through feigned smiles

when I hear your voice

wobble, greyed

heavied,

an elephant

whipped to dance

I see the salmon-pink

loops on your wrists

where you’ve wrung,

teal river veins run

to palms.

I see through your smile

when

I’ve worn

that same grin.

Pinched

stiff

performed,

lips clung to gums

eyes unfocused

the world

muddy

splotchy

hazy

blues in tango

with greens, a

kaleidoscope blur.

You don’t have to wear it around me,

that Thalia mask, that

showbiz smile--

--it’s not a sin

to not be

okay.

Hang the mask

on a coat rack, feel

your cheeks melt,

soft, like butter left

in sunlight-slivers,

yellow to yellow

lemon to mouth,

downturned

puckered

pursed

a Melpomene frown

your lilypad eyes

swollen with

dew,

rippled

compressed.

I see through feigned smiles

and I’ll stay

for the hurricanes

I’ll stay

to top off mugs,

transform tepid tea

with ice

and mint and

brown sugar cubes

and honey;

a dance of velocities

I’ll stay

to listen; to

cry with you, and scream

and sob, ‘til the yellow

settles

below brown, caked

to cup,

golden dregs.

I’ll be here

while you

frown

until your smile is

sanguine;

candid,

unfeigned.