Let My Face Become a Face Again

A thousand words behind my teeth, A tightening underneath. My brow keeps watch, my lips hold fast, My face stands guard against the past. I feel the effort, feel the strain, The quiet work of holding pain. Before I find the words to say, You see the tension anyway. No single molecule holds the key, No chemical explains all of me. A shifting signal, a changing tone More than chemistry alone. Let my face become a face again, With room for tears and room to grin. Let an expression rise and fade, Beyond the mask that tension made. No smile required, no tears on cue, Make room for something coming through. A little movement, now and then My face can be a face again. Noradrenaline can turn up the gain, Make motor cells respond again. Serotonin can excite them too “Calming” isn’t all these signals do. GABA Glycine a braking pair, Can slow the motor signals there. These are clues from the animal lab, Not a map of every fear we have. Let my face become a face again, With room for tears and room to grin. Let an expression rise and fade, Beyond the mask that tension made. No smile required, no tears on cue, Make room for something coming through. A little movement, now and then My face can be a face again. CRF can call the stress system higher, Stoke the L,fire. A possible road toward heightened strain But facial bracing needs more to explain. Oxytocin can shape connection, Influence our shared expression. It isn’t a switch that makes armor fall; There’s no one messenger behind it all. You see my brow begin to ease. You cannot name its chemistry. Stay with the change that we can see Leave room for what remains a mystery. Let my face become a face again, With room for tears and room to grin. Let an expression rise and fade, Beyond the mask that tension made. No smile required, no tears on cue, Make room for something coming through. My lips can part, my brow can bend My face can be a face again. A feeling passing. A changing shape. A face with room For what it may say.