If I Can Smile Poem by Deepak Malapur

Let me see if I can smile
Genuine, not a fake smile
The smiles around me seem vile
Is it hard to find a hearty smile for a while?
A camera acts as a dictator
It clicks and flashes when you smile
Only when you smile, hearty or foul
Damn it, I am no camera
Damned to live in a chameleon era
I can see, sense, feel, express
Oh Almighty! You created such a mess
My heart aches to see imposter grin
The soul jumps like stone inside a rusty tin
Various facades swarm the dressing table
I am ashamed of myself playing double
Death is adamant, takes its own sweet time
Mentally dormant, I do nothing but wait for my doom
I feel I should leave this forest of concrete
Merge into a valley, the silent valley of my heart
No one except me, me with myself
No facades, no fake smiles
Just me and my pure self