There is the warm, congenial smile,
Benign, and honest, too,
Free from deception, fraud, and guile;
The smile of friendship true.
There is the smile most fair to see,
Which wreathes the modest glance
Of spotless maiden purity;
The smile of innocence.
There is the smile of woman’s love,
That potent, siren spell,
Which uplifts men to heaven above,
Or lures them down to hell!
There is the vain, derisive smile,
Of cynical conceit;
The drunken leer, the grimace vile,
Of lives with crime replete.
There is the smile of vacancy,
Expressionless, we find
On idiot physiognomy,
The vacuum of a mind.
There is a smile, which more than tears
Or language can express;
The grim disguise which anguish wears,
The mask of dire distress
There is a smile of practiced art,
More false than treason’s kiss;
But penetrate that dual heart,
And hear the serpent’s hiss.
A smile, the visage shall embrace,
When nature’s cup is full;
Behind the stern and frowning face
There lies a grinning skull.
(Alfred Castner King)
More Poetry from Alfred Castner King:
Alfred Castner King Poems based on Topics: Mind, Smiling, Love, Art, Friendship, Hell, Kiss, Innocence, Honesty & Integrity, Woman, Language- Metabole. (Alfred Castner King Poems)
- Grandeur. (Alfred Castner King Poems)
- The Legend Of St. Regimund. (Alfred Castner King Poems)
- Echoes From Galilee. (Alfred Castner King Poems)
- Humanity's Stream. (Alfred Castner King Poems)
- In Mortem Meditare. (Alfred Castner King Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: Love Poems, Mind Poems, Friendship Poems, Smiling Poems, Art Poems, Woman Poems, Kiss Poems, Hell Poems, Honesty & Integrity Poems, Language Poems, Innocence PoemsBased on Keywords: derisive, wreathes, practiced, dual, uplifts, cynical, expressionless, physiognomy