A mother's love

I could see it in her eyes
as she tucked me in at bedtime.
It was in her touch
when she gently brushed aside
Those strands of hair
that always seemed to hang
in front of my eyes
as I stood facing her during the
“daily off-to-school inspection”.

Momma never said she loved me but I always knew she did.
She just didn’t know how to say -----
“I love you”.

Occasionally, I would glance at her
and catch her looking at me lovingly
with a soft smile that seemed to comfort me
and make me feel everything was
“right” in my world.
I would imagine her childhood
was similar to mine
and she just wasn’t taught
how to say those words
every child needs to hear.

Momma never said she loved me but I always knew she did.
She just didn’t know how to say -----
“I love you”.

Years later, I came to her side
as she lay in the hospital bed.
She looked at me with that same loving gaze
and soft smile I knew as a child.
I could tell she loved me.
She didn’t have to say.
As I leaned close to kiss her goodbye,
I could hear her softly whisper three little words.

The last words I ever heard her say -----
“I love you”.