Life of the Party

“Smile!”

Smile for me, smile for me they say.

So I smile,

Eyes bright, cheeks red,

And then I begin to dance,

And my feet are tapping on  the ground,

Sliding and clicking,

And my skirt is swinging,

And I smile.

I am wearing pearls and they are cold and grand against my throat.

My lips are painted red with a hint of orange in it, the color of a sunset.

I am laughing, and when I laugh it sounds like glasses chinking,

Like sparkling people, like someone drinking champagne.

Everyone thinks I am funny tonight,

Everyone thinks I am beautiful.

Everyone thinks I am lovely tonight,

Everyone thinks I am darling.

So I smile,

And my sunset lips curl towards my eyes with black curves of eyeliner like butterfly wings,

Toward my round cheeks brushed dusty rose.

I smile and they smile with me,

The assembled, the ones who love me so.

In the morning,

My feet are swollen and aching, my hair mussed, butterfly wings turned to dirty smudges,

And I smile.