If I smile today, it is not for you,
it is a memory, perhaps recovered
and drawn from dust,
from an afternoon
spent on Petit Bot or
learning from history
about Cornwall or Guernsey,
about the beach rock pools holding
life, a child sized cricket bat in hand,
a small plastic ball, with holes in,
sending in your mind
the Australians back to the pavilion;
I will smile because it is expected
but should I smile your way,
don’t be offended, it is not for you.