Loving with a love that has left behind

all thoughts of whether the packaging

is crumpled and faded.

Living on life’s see-saw, still smiling

when it jolts to the ground hard, not only

when you’re lifted to the sky.

Still finding a smile when your child

has woken every night for three years.

Pretending that the burnt round the edges

soggy in the middle meal, made

by a loved one, is nectar.

The open mind and heart of one

In the comfort in their own skin

accepting of who they are,

right here and now.

Loving kindness, that smile again,

when it meets the eyes of a soul

who rarely speaks to another,

never mind smiling together.