A Smile

"Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been"-Mark Twain

A smile,
is a small gesture.
A smile is a welcome,
into our world.
I smiled and she opened up,
like a flower.
She told me of her pain,
she told me of the child that she lost fifty years ago.
She was burned in an accident,
and they could not save her.
She said, "I don't know why I am talking about it,
but I have thought about it every day since then."
She felt the sadness in my eyes,
I held out my hand and touched hers.
" I am sorry", I said.
Our eyes connected ,
my heart cried along hers.
Her wrinkles knowing,
she lived a life,
she had other children,
but she never forgot.
She smiled, lifted by sharing ,
lifted that she could remember.
Extending a smile,
extending kindness,
it is I that is richer for it.