A Smile Can Hide but Eyes Can’t Lie

Summary

The text is a poignant reflection on unheard emotions and the unspoken truths in a relationship, emphasizing that while a smile can mask feelings, the eyes reveal the true depth of one's experiences.

Abstract

The prose poem delves into the themes of love, loss, and truth, narrating the experience of someone who feels unheard and invisible in their relationship. The author describes the effort to communicate amidst the chaos of daily life, the contemplation of leaving, and the quiet desperation of living with unacknowledged emotions. Despite the facade of a smile, the eyes betray the underlying sadness and the longing for connection and recognition. The piece concludes with a powerful statement about the universality of internal struggles, suggesting that many people grapple with similar feelings of isolation and the burden of unvoiced thoughts.

Opinions

The author conveys a sense of being overlooked and unheard in a relationship, despite efforts to communicate.
There is a palpable feeling of entrapment, with the narrator considering escape but ultimately remaining due to fear and responsibility.
The poem suggests that outward appearances, such as a smile, can be deceiving and do not always reflect one's true emotional state.
The eyes are portrayed as the window to the soul, revealing the narrator's inner turmoil and the truth behind the facade.
The text implies that the narrator's internal struggle is a common human experience, hinting at a shared sense of emotional concealment and the desire to be truly seen and understood.

A prose poem on love, loss and truth

Maybe you didn’t hear me because the dryer was moaning, and the dishes had piled up too high.

I might have dropped a few to see if you noticed, but maybe you didn’t hear me over the baby’s cry.

I thought more than once, wouldn’t it be easy to walk out that door and just keep walking and walking but maybe you didn’t hear me because I softly closed the bedroom door.

I didn’t want to disturb your snore and then fear your roar. I could only rock one child at a time to keep things on the quiet side.

Maybe you didn’t notice me because I could disappear even when you were near.

Sometimes I had wished I were invisible, but maybe I did it too well and I was.

A smile can hide, but eyes can’t lie.

They see the maybes and shoulds and coulds and wishes all held closely.

Because maybe….

I was the only one who could hear me crying inside.

Carolyn Riker, MA, LMHC, is a psychotherapist and author of three books. Her latest is My Dear, Love Hasn’t Forgotten You. If you’d like, follow her on Facebook at Carolyn Riker, MA, LMHC or Instagram.