Smile through the tears

Many of my poems juxtapose contrasting emotions and comparisons, it’s a feature of poetry that can serve to highlight difference within a concept or similarities in seemingly unrelated ideas. By juxtaposing themes of darkness and light my poetry finds the glimmer of hope that nestles within times of despair.

Today’s poem uses juxtaposition to describe how emotionally alone we can feel even when surrounded by people and how memories can stimulate both happy and sad feelings, hence we may “smile through the tears“.


Smile through the tears

Blinking back tears, I smile
and nod, acknowledging words
Lost in a room filled with people
I find myself empty
and alone
despite the crowds, without you by my side
A lost piece in the jigsaw puzzle that is life
My life
No longer ours, now it’s ‘I’ and ‘me’
instead of ‘us’ and ‘we’
But my memories are our memories
and in these we remain
and I smile through my tears

copyright © 2018 Karen Horsley