Felicity.

"Smile." 

You say as you walk in the room, 

seating yourself in the armchair next to me.

You barely look up before repeating yourself:

"Smile."

You  haven't yet noticed that my eyes are holding strong,

Like a river trying not to burst its banks

after a heavy storm.

You're still sitting silently and the room is

empty.

Finally, you look up and meet my eyes for the 

first time in weeks.

I think you were going to tell me to smile again,

but then you realised why I'm unhappy.

And sometimes I forget that you can't simply read my mind.

And sometimes I forget that I need to talk to you.

And sometimes the river does burst its banks,

drowning whole towns and villages with no quick way to rebuild what has been lost.