Saying “I love you” to someone who can’t hear doesn’t count, by Lee Waddington

Saying “I love you” to someone who can’t hear doesn’t count

It’s there, hidden beneath an olive branch 
Withdrawn, and all too quickly withered 
A lost voice foundered in a remote valley 
Where past transactions echo silently 
Never dormant in the minds of the recipient 
Joyous, a prowling beast of joyous occasion 
But a vacuous space holds for most 
Spoken words displaced 
Laid to rest at the spark of a thought 
Too late to utter, the moment passed

“I love you”, said

In a whisper in the car on the way home 
When you passed 
After the door clicked back into place, 
Your perfume dragged quickly behind

​In anger, sarcastically thrown 
On repeat, repeat, repeat before you answer the phone
During rehearsal in a teenage bedroom, 
A tragic comedy coming too soon

​Me, to you 
The great unknown 

Lee Waddington currently lives in West Yorkshire, UK. Lee has a Masters’ Degree in Applied Sport & Exercise Psychology from Staffordshire University and has worked for several Premier League soccer clubs including; Manchester United, Nottingham Forest, Blackburn Rovers, Manchester City and Burnley. A keen writer for over twenty-five years, Lee writes in several formats from short stories to educational sports writing and poetry. Lee likes to spend most of his spare time with his partner, Anna and their family of five daughters. He also likes to travel, read, watch soccer and, of course, write.