Broken Smile

• Jessica Howard, Grade 10
• Poetry
• 2019

She had a smile like a war-torn town
Strong and broken, expecting to drown
She never showed her broken insides
Just hid and hoped none would see through her disguise

She had a smile like a galaxy of stars
Bright and dying, covered in scars
Everyone always seemed to forget
A star’s light shines brightest when it’s verging on collapse

She wore her smile like a haunted town
Filled with the ghosts she couldn’t drown