A Painted Smile

Tears behind a painted smile.

Never again will you see me cry;

look in my eyes and they will be dry.

My feelings I bury down deep in my brain.

The emptiness there, I’ve no way to explain.

My laughter to my own ears sounds quite insane,

I love you, I guess that will always remain.

Letting you go, watching as you fly,

swallowing my pain, I wave goodbye,

tears behind a painted smile.

** Note: This form is known as a SYMETRELLE, and is less than 20 years old. Its rigid syllable counts (7/9/9/11/11/11/11/9/9/7), its rhyme scheme (A,b,b,c,c,c,c,b,b,A) and the refrain line, which bookends the poem as the first and last line, make it a lot of fun to craft -- even when the subject matter is painful.