Fishhooks

It was reflex, automatic; like a nagging bad habit

Squeaky-squeak, the wires creak
Bending and twisting my face on command
A quick flash of teeth, then it's over and I'm gone
Quick and painless; smile and move on
Make a little laugh, sprinkle a giggle or two
It'll increase the realism by half

Now the wires aren't real; they're made of metal and steel
But the smiles it creates are enough to make you settle
For generic answers to any questions asked
I'm not trying to ace a test, I'm just looking to pass a friendly interrogation
Without revealing sensitive or harmful information

I decided some time in the past that I'd rather swim with sharks
Or swallow shards of glass than reopen a wound so vast and so deep
That losing sleep is the least of my worries
My stretched lips are constantly sore
And I try so hard to ignore the cold metal bars chaffing the insides of my mouth
I tell myself I don't feel them anymore

You ask me how I'm doing and I'm doing just great
The wires do their job and I have a smile on my face
In passing it works like a charm
But when someone stops and really wants to talk
That's the greatest threat of harm
And I fight the urge to walk away

But as long as the mess of steel on my face can momentarily erase 

Any trace of the storm that's raging within 

These wires will always have a place beneath my skin

To reopen that wound is a sin that I could never forgive

So to prevent things from going south,
I'll continue to smile
Like I've got fishhooks in the corners of my mouth
Just to tell you everything is okay
Trust me, it's better that way

"Hey, how ya doin?"

"I'm doing just swell!"

I continue bend the steel on my face
So you'll never tell how dead I really am inside

But I'll be smiling again tomorrow as always

Whether I mean it or not, whether it's genuine or just for show
You'll probably never know