We Don't Say ‘i Love You' Poem by Anthony Devanney

We don't say ‘I love you'
But, "d' yer wanna borrow a tenner? "
Not great declarations of transcendent devotion
But concern obviously subtle, with unnecessary words left unspoken.

We don't say ‘I love you'
But, ‘would yer like a cuppa? "
Not poetic discourse or Shakespearean verse
But the palpable joy of time spent in conversations over rehearsed.

We don't say ‘I love you'
But, ‘give us a ring to let us know yer ‘ome safe'
And despite the frailty of memory,
There in the cracks and crevices resides that which time cannot erode.
Countless conversations of insignificance leave their residue,
A million minor interactions of seeming inconsequence
Ensure that those unnecessary words are not needed but felt.

And even now when the transience of life is at its most imposing
Those unnecessary words remain,
Just that,
Unnecessary.