Shadows Beneath My Smile

Beneath the sky of painted blue,

I wear a mask the world once knew,

A smile stitched in careful grace,

But sorrow lingers on my face.

They see the laughter, not the ache,

The dreams that broke but didn’t shake.

I carry storms behind these eyes,

And drown in silence no one spies.

The nights are long, the light is thin,

And peace forgets the skin I’m in.

My voice is soft, my heart is loud,

Yet still I vanish in the crowd.

A thousand thoughts I never share,

Too fragile, raw, too bruised to bear.

Each word I speak feels like a lie—

A gentle wave that says goodbye.

I long for hands that understand,

For warmth that doesn’t slip like sand.

But all I touch just fades away,

Like fleeting stars at break of day.

I’m here, yet lost, I breathe, yet fall,

A shadow dancing down the hall.

If ever someone sees my soul,

Please hold it close, and make it whole.

For every smile hides something deep,

A broken heart that dares to weep.