Chris Haven: “The Woman’s Smile”
THE WOMAN’S SMILE
Hard-won. Like hickory shells on the walk,
pellet-sized hole to the heart of the nut.
Fake smiles. She would dole those out
when it was time for someone to go away.
The child was known for not smiling in pictures.
Her family never asked why. Maybe they knew.
Of course it was taken from her. What was left—
hardened. Something looking for words.
Words for trust. For fist. For a puzzle that takes
time to solve. For anything that can crack.
Her teeth are her own. They’re not yours to win.
Hidden, all set in a row. Not the last things she’ll lose.
Chris Haven has had poetry appear in a number of journals, including Cincinnati Review, Beloit Poetry Journal, Southern Review, Blackbird, Mid-American Review, and North American Review. His debut collection of poems, Bone Seeker (NYQ Books), was published in 2021, and a collection of stories, Nesting Habits of Flightless Birds (Tailwinds Press), was published in 2020. Haven teaches creative writing at Grand Valley State University in Michigan.