Classic Poem

He switched the light on: in the glare
He saw his wife crouched in her chair,
Caught in dark brooding, unaware,
Her drawn face set in bleak despair
Startled, she glanced at him; and then
The smile came to her lips again:
Indifferently, of mice and men
They chattered till the clock struck ten—

And so to bed: but wakefully
All night he lay, aware that he
Under the mask must ever see
The bitter desperation she,
For his sake, struggled to disguise
In smiles, that were but kindly lies,
Till, stripped and taken by surprise,
It stared at him from startled eyes.