The price of a smile

As a kid he was so genial,
believing things which were most ethereal,
every experience so congenial,
and every need ever so trivial,
his emotions were so real,
his beliefs strong as steel,
but now he's all grown,
so much hurt, reasons unknown,
the beguiling smile on his face,
and ever so gallant are his ways,
the sweetness is his spell,
the sweetness, his hell,
entombed within, his emotions boil,
the slightest pain inflicted makes him recoil,
he heard them talk about him behind his back,
all the nasty things and qualities that he lacked,
the calumnies and slanders,
the accusations and impudent banters,
he maintained his equanimity,
and his stoical personality,
with the beguiling smile on his face,
he hid his dismay in an uncharted place,
from that day on,
he took an oath so strong,
to never be the same kid again,

to never be hurt or looked upon with disdain.