Not Always Glad When We Smile

We are not always glad when we smile:
Though we wear a fair face and are gay,
    And the world we deceive
    May not ever believe
We could laugh in a happier way. -
Yet, down in the deeps of the soul,
Ofttimes, with our faces aglow,
    There's an ache and a moan
    That we know of alone,
And as only the hopeless may know.

We are not always glad when we smile, -
For the heart, in a tempest of pain,
    May live in the guise
    Of a smile in the eyes
As a rainbow may live in the rain;
And the stormiest night of our woe
May hang out a radiant star
    Whose light in the sky
    Of despair is a lie
As black as the thunder-clouds are.

We are not always glad when we smile! -
But the conscience is quick to record,
    All the sorrow and sin
    We are hiding within
Is plain in the sight of the Lord:
And ever, O ever, till pride
And evasion shall cease to defile
    The sacred recess
    Of the soul, we confess
We are not always glad when we smile.

James Whitcomb Riley

James Whitcomb Riley

James Whitcomb Riley was an American writer, poet, and best-selling author. He was known as the "Hoosier Poet" and the "Children's Poet" for his dialect works and children's poetry respectively. Over his career, Riley authored approximately 1,000 poems, including "Little Orphant Annie" and "The Raggedy Man". His influence extended into the 20th century, and his works continued to be celebrated for their nostalgic and rural themes.

James Whitcomb Riley

English

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