Smiles can be currency paid from the faces of small ones to kin. 

They adorn the doorways wherein happiness resides. 

Knowing their value, one may wonder why a smile cannot buy more things.

My great-grandfather’s brown, weathered face could not hold a smile in pictures,

So, his grandchildren carried it through stories.

They say it was warm, playful, wise, and abiding like the Autumn sun.

His smile could not buy food, peace, or presence in most places.

Even self-respect was expensive in those days, but he managed. 

My great-grandfather worked hard his whole life without complaint.

Great-grandfather’s smile was a beautiful rebellion,

A mockery of centuries of oppression.

And he gave that smile to his daughter.

She wore it well.