Forced smiles

The sterile air hums with forced jollity, A fluorescent sun on this human assembly. Clinking glasses like wind chimes in a storm, Laughter erupts, a language yet to be born. My smile, a tight mask, hides the caverns within, Where galaxies whirl of unspoken "what ifs" and "whens." The dance floor pulsates, a technicolor blur, Each step a sentence I can't seem to concur. My colleagues, constellations in a fabricated night, Orbiting stories of weekends bathed in light. My own weekend, a journey through starlit thought, An introspective voyage few have ever sought. The weight of their expectations, a tangible thing, Presses against me, a truth with no wedding ring. Am I the black hole, the anomaly here? Devouring connection, the cost I hold dear. Is this existential angst a burden to share? Or a secret cathedral, a place built with care? The paradox tightens, a constricting embrace, To yearn for acceptance, yet fear to displace.