Don't be deceived by strained smiles & sunny scenes
Desperate, broken pieces are tucked away just underneath
Weary ones always striving to help or to please
Find it harder to rock boats, make waves or release
Glimpses of the messy, the deeply shattered parts
Taking up all of the spaces in their frantic, hurting heart
Don't be convinced by how quickly they say
How they're doing alright, just plugging away
Because the face of someone doing battle inside
Won't show all the places that have died that they hide
Places once thriving, no longer what they seem
With a chest that is heavy & struggling to breathe
Because sometimes where a smile is worn instead
Their eyes tell a deeper story of dread
Eyes that are searching for an exit or escape
From a life far more painful than they can take
So ask and be present, show up and lean in
Don't run when they tell you the dark places they've been
Swallowed up by hopelessness, shame & abuse
The loneliness, fear, the way they were used
They don't need you to save them
Just a safe place to rest
Because smiling is exhausting
When life feels like death.
