Smile and the world smiles with you … Stanley Gordon West
Joy in smiling
By Roger Childs
You always feel better when people smile at you.
One of the joys of running or walking is that invariably people coming the other way, whether you know them or not, will greet you and smile.
Last week I was jogging back from the gym and came past the new seat that overlooks the wetland by the Wharemauku Stream. There was a girl of about ten sitting there and she turned, said Hullo! and smiled.
In Shane Cave’s words: I saw a kindly smile today, smiled back, and was happy.
Smile
I saw a kindly smile today.
Two unknown eyes met mine.
I did not know their owner,
nor their owner me.
But a wrinkle at each eye’s edge,
puckered lips and rounded cheeks
meant we smiled and passed by,
a fleeting touch of shared souls
among the countless
who are one-alone, but then are not.
Narrow hall, a pause,
a tilted head and gentle wave of hand, please pass by.
Dark night and light-flashed face,
never seen before, but not a stranger.
Smiled remembrance — always known.
Familiar touch — among the unmet.
Not one — one of many.
I saw a kindly smile today,
smiled back,
and was happy.
Shane Cave