Beneath the Wry Smile

Oluseyi Ogunbanwo
@oluseyiogunbanwo018093
11 days ago

Beneath the Wry Smile

Beneath that wry smile lies an agonising pain,
Concealed by the nerve of necessity;
Displayed before the impressionable, who look for gain,
Who lean on borrowed strength,
Whose eyes read the countenance, but never the heart.

So it is beneath the resplendent attire—
A dry, wrinkled skin,
Scorched beneath a relentless sun,
The living chronicle of years of labour,
Hidden behind the pleasantries of camaraderie
Among brethren and contemporaries alike.

Yet nothing speaks louder than the hardened palms,
Testament to long years of rigours on the farm;
Hands that ridged the earth,
That planted in hope and harvested in faith,
Bearing silent witness
To sacrifices no tongue could fully recount.

Beneath the breast lies a heart,
Troubled by the uncertainties of the moment;
Pressed beneath the weight of many dependants,
Its rhythm disturbed by anxious thoughts,
Unsettled by circumstances unexplained,
Yet held together by the quiet strength of faith
And the promise of a brighter dawn.

Still, amid laughter, jesting, jokes, and cheerful banter,
Where old tales rekindle friendships of years gone by,
Lingers a troubled mind,
Veiled by the warmth of affectionate comrades;
Haunted by comparisons,
And burdened by the widening gulf of unequal fortunes.

Then, standing among a multitude of worshippers,
Lost in ecstatic songs of praise,
There remains a troubled soul,
Pursued by the shadows of its own iniquities;
Consumed by fear, guilt, and shame,
Yet yearning for the mercy
That alone can make it whole.

For beneath every smile,
Beyond every garment,
Within every hand, heart, mind, and soul,
Lives a story seldom told—
A silent battle known only to God,
Who alone beholds the hidden man
And heals the wounds unseen.


-Oluseyi Ogunbanwo

#poetry
#NircleStories

---

@williamsekwensi8104 @hadleyheatherly1136 @artemisperez7559 @olafemiikande--4518 @ashleyokonkwo6810 @memphisgordillo8764 @hamzarunkle360 @bethelmadaki6807 @matthewfedor5216 @kehindechukwumereije7243 @adalinecharleston9155 @marleighhausman8630 @casemorales8714 @samorji5528 @scottjepson174 @annawilds48 @otiscollins2500 @leightonbrinkerhoff2084 @everleefiorentino1366 @autumncalle7479 @haileyfifer9884 @maximusbackman7427 @kayleevallejos2662 @corbincalle5267 @kyreeross6229 @gatlincruz5370 @khloemcdavid8460