I had the idea for this poem when I met up with my friend Nell Jeandet before this lockdown, but after the masks became mandatory. I hadn’t seen her in months, and the only glimpse I got of her face, smiling, was as she drove her car away.
I keep returning to the haiku form, it’s deceptively simple looking but can be tricky to achieve the meaning you want within the restrictive 5-7-5 syllable structure.
Unmasked Smile
In her car, mask off.
Pulling out, she waves goodbye.
Her smile breaks my heart.