I came across this last week. It was something I doodled when I was at work and I had it stuck on my computer for a few years…. that tiny little hand/paw trying to hold things together…the mouth stretched wide, with huge jaws…

It says smile,  but really it was a grimace, a smile through gritted teeth. I was feeling very low but didn’t want to tell anyone. It was about work, and people, but I used to just get on with things. I wouldn’t let them know they were getting to me. I would just look at this drawing and smile.

Sweet smile you tear at my mouth,

You pull the sides upwards into a rictus grin.

Corners pulled up like a weight lifter raising kilos above his head.

Crocodile smile?  No, more of a dinosaur grin…

Ancient, creaking, trying not to give in to atrophy.

Smile for the camera, twist your lips, show your teeth.

No don’t cry! Grin!