Unbroken

When you smile 

it lights the room like a beacon

and for a moment 

watching out for the cruel rocks

in the dark sea where we navigate 

is forgotten 

because we have entered a safe haven

where you have let down your guard.

It isn’t always

friendly laughter 

sometimes your teeth are showing 

but it’s a break in the obscurity and

for a moment the sun

beams through the gap

and that is enough.

Laughing when

the world is dark

is a kind of courage 

a way to defy

the callousness of the gods

a way to spit 

in the face of destiny 

and it lifts my heart

to see radiance beam out of you

like a detonation 

and punch through the storm clouds

unbroken.