If I smile at you
and you expected

to see a grimace
often

you will see
the grimace.

But once in a while
the smile melts through

and you carry it
off with you.

And perhaps you send out
a smile of your own,

unexpected in its sweetness
and that smile too

may be picked up and
carried off in some stranger’s pocket.

Margaret Dubay Mikus
©1999