More than a Smile

A smile can be a refuge, a mask, a quiet plea.
It can say I’m fine when the soul is heavy,
when the weight of expectation is too much to bear.
Black men are told to be strong—
to carry, to protect, to endure.
But strength is not silence.
Strength is allowing the truth to rise,
to lay down the armor,
to be held without judgment.
More Than a Smile is a reckoning, a release.
A call for softness, for space, for voices unshackled.
Because no one should have to smile through their suffering.
Because being human is enough.