I live for baggy eyes in the morning,

Highlighting my tired expression.

Seeing them in the mirror shocks me

And makes me smile them away.

I live for pouty lips after disappointment.

Sticking my tongue out, defiant,

Making the friend sitting next to me giggle

And know everything’s okay.

I live for unexpected dimples in smiles,

Opened pockets of people’s happiness.

Because life’s not just “I had a bad day”,

But also plenty of “I had a good day.”

I live for sparkles in my eyes in the evening

After a day of seeing familiar faces,

Watching their happy expressions

When I passed them on my way.

I live for flushed cheeks on pale skin,

And when someone wonders why I’m like that,

So easily flustered about little things, I just laugh

That I blush so easily at whatever they say.

I live for hiding my face in embarrassment,

At a tease, a knowing glance.

It just means I so love the person I’m with

That all I can do with my stories is relay.

Concealing emotions is a hindrance.

One fact that makes us human

Is that others are able to read my face,

Just from what a few muscles convey.

After the bad days, I can come into a room,

Then instantly get the caring, “What’s wrong?”,

And knowing I can explain and be comforted

Washes relief over my previous dismay.

I live for all the proof I’m so lucky.

It’s the reason I can’t stop laughing,

Too hard at something not quite so funny,

But so contagious from the laugh they portray.

Photos are fine but only a sliver of you and me.

So I’ll take my real smile to the poised one,

Without the tuning, editing, preparation.

I’ll take honest me to a misleading snapshot any day.