Unspoken

This is a poem I wrote for Mum in 2003, when I was at university. People say, “You never know what you’ve got till it’s gone,” and I wanted Mum to know that I really appreciated all she was and all she did for us all, even though I couldn’t find the right words.

Mum talked to Dad before she died about what she wanted at her funeral, and she wanted me to read this poem. It will always be very special to me as an expression of our love for each other.

So much unspoken
So much to say
So many words
So much love
So much
Unspoken

Love that never changes
Care that never ends
Life given unconditionally
Unselfishly in love
So much love
So much
Unspoken

A lifetime is not enough to speak the words unspoken
Love knows no language but the heart
To say, ‘Thank you’ is too little
To leave it unsaid is not enough

I hope you know
I hope you understand
I hope you believe:

I love you