\u201cGo ahead, smile!\u201d
\nmy mother would whisper to me,
\nwhenever she was anxious herself,
\nhaving to face intimidating or worrisome people.
\nIn moments of humiliation,
\nmy smile shielded and strengthened her.
\n\u201cGo ahead, smile!\u201d
\nBecause a child\u2019s smile hides
\nall the suffering and uncertainty in the world.
\nIn India, they say,
\n\u201cChildren are the world\u2019s smiles,\u201d and it\u2019s true.
\nAren\u2019t children the ones who bring us all together,
\nwhen their parents are fed up with begging and pleading?
\nTheir smiles stop the questions and the criticisms.
\nIt\u2019s their strength, their strength as children,
\nthat finds friends for their families.
\nThey play, they run, they grow up
\nin rundown neighborhoods,
\nin slums squeezed between highways and factories.
\nThey shout too loudly.
\nThey disturb their whole class.
\nIn church they can\u2019t keep quiet or stop fidgeting.
\nBut when they feel touched by your love,
\nthey beam the most irresistible smiles at you.<\/p>\n
(…)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"