In my teens and early 20s,
I hated smiley faces.
I thought they were cheesy and fake,
impersonal and unoriginal,
and that the people who drew them
were all those things, too.
What a stubborn, cynical
way of looking at the world!
Today, I rather like
the smiley face.
It’s usually only drawn
by people who are happy
or want me to be happy
and how can I possibly dislike that?
A smiley face is like shorthand for
happy thoughts and well wishes.
And, believe me:
a skim chai latte
with a 1/2 shot of vanilla
makes me very happy.
Especially one with a smiley face on it.
