Smiles

I love the whole body smiles of infants and the genuine grins of the young at heart.

That being said, smiles often give me the creeps.

There is the predatory smile of Trump and cartoon characters just before they pounce. The mocking smile of the uber sophisticates looking down their short sighted noses. The supercilious smile of fashionistas bolstering their own insecurity.

But the smile that hurt me the most was the bland, impenetrable smile my ex used.

It was his armor against the world.

That smile stood between him and my sanity. It was what separated him from all feelings of compassion, love, or generosity.

That smile signaled the end of possibilities. It was the nuclear bomb that destroyed our marriage.

The paradox of smiles meant to destroy or avoid interaction is the stuff of nightmares, as much as the spontaneous beauty of sincere smiles often feels like a glimpse of heaven.

So much power in a simple moving of the lips.