Hello, I was introduced to you by @quillfire through this post. I am no student of poetry, not by a long shot, so my comments here are from a total outsider's perspective when it comes to the world opposite prose.

First off, let me say that my hat is off to you for putting out something positive like this in spite of living with EDS. I have a cousin who lives with it as well, and art is a huge part of their life too.

Now on to the poem. My interpretation is that it is being told by someone who grew up somewhat awkward looking or with some other kind of flaw or disfigurement. For years they had self-confidence and were not afraid to reveal their smile or their vulnerable side to people, until one day something happened to cause them to stop smiling. Finally, years later, they re-discovered the ability and courage to smile. Not in spite of what people had previously mocked, but because of it.

To me, this is a poem about learning to love yourself and ignore the haters. It is also about accepting your flaws and making the most of them. The smile in this poem is literal but also symbolic of a willingness to be vulnerable around others. The payoff for making this change is the ability to achieve a full measure of joy.

I like the message that I got from this poem, and think the story was well crafted. If I must come up with a critique, I would say that it is the fact that I had to really dig and search to find the reason why the author stopped smiling. But maybe that's intentional, so if so, I guess I have no critique at all! :)

Well done! I am not normally a big consumer of poetry but this was definitely worth my time.