Funny, the people who smile

with their mouths and not their eyes

who smile when facing me

but drop to a scowl when they turn away.

Maybe it would be better

if they just stopped pretending

to be happy to see me, or just happy at all

maybe their smiles would be real

if they learned it was safe to smile

when they meant it

and not just all the time

like how we say “fine”

when asked “how are you”

like it is some glue

that holds this whole stupid fake society together

e pluribus unum

out of many different experiences we somehow

shoehorn all our reactions and interactions

into one great big play

where we act out what it means

to be human

without ever meaning anything real

at all.