A letter is hidden inside each tear
As the pain escapes our eyes
A poem is born inside our souls
Whenever a poet cries

Sometimes they're tears of sadness
Other times, tears of joy
They're filled with happy endings
Or words that can even destroy

A tear can look like a broken heart
Or maybe a gentle smile
It can even look like temptation
Tears that are meant to beguile

A tear can be a new born child
Or a loved one who has died
Ink will flow through a poet's veins
In the letters that we've cried

A letter is hidden inside each tear
In all the words we seek
A tear will give the letters a voice
Until the words begin to speak

She got it a week before Christmas
Like every year before
A card written by her husband's hand
Who wasn't alive anymore

The card would wish her Christmas cheer
And told her of his love
He died in a accident on Christmas Eve
But it was her he's thinking of

For twenty-six years the cards would come
That's how long they were husband and wife
She never questioned why the the cards would come
They were written by the love of her life

He would write her a card for every year
And secretly tuck them aside
He gave a card to each of his friends
To mail long after he'd died

For twenty-six years the cards would come
Until she would pass away
They buried her beside her husband
With her cards on Christmas day

My wife asked me to do the shopping
Then handed me a grocery list
It wasn't very big just some household stuff
And some other things that she had missed

"Piece of cake," I told my wife
And out the door I went
She yelled, "Don't forget to get a receipt,
So I can see how much you spent"

I got to the market and headed for the milk
It wasn't on the list per se
But being the man who knew what he wanted
I thought I'd get it anyway

Then I strolled on over to the frozen meat
And pick up some T-bone steaks
Again, it wasn't really on the grocery list
Just another one of her mistakes

I had to get some snacks for the football game
Cause a man can't have enough
I didn't check the list to see if it was there
'Cause I was busy doing other stuff

Before I knew it, the buggy was full
Okay, maybe there were three
But look at all this stuff I got
She'll be so proud of me

Nine hundred dollars and fifteen cents
And my wife got her ******* in a twist
I spent a whole months budget in twenty-five minutes
And didn't buy a thing from the list

What is poetry? I've heard it said
It's something you can feel
A thousand thoughts caught in your head
That causes our souls to heal

It's never about a pretty word
Or even the poet's style
It's about a moment we've lived or heard
That always makes us smile

It's something hidden deep inside
That we need the world to see
Or maybe a pain that we can't hide
Once written will set us free

A poem is maybe a dream we've chased
A dream we've never caught
A poem is all the trials we've faced
Memories that can't be bought

A poem is never right or wrong
Sometimes it heals a scar
Sometimes it's called our spirit's song
It's part of who we are

Just in case you say goodbye
Remember how we met
I know that soon you'll have to go
But I'm not ready yet

Cancer doesn't care who we are
Or anything we've done
It doesn't care about the tears we cry
Or that you're my only one

Just in case it hurts a lot
I will hold your hand
Don't be sad if you see me cry
I hope you understand

It doesn't take any volunteers
Or I'd be in your place
But still I pray that God takes me
And spares you just in case

I've heard it said that poems of love
Are nothing more than cliche'
Everything's been written, everything's been said
In every conceivable way

They've written about the ocean's blue
Or a smile that could envy the sun
They write of this thing called undying love
Until their days on this earth are done

But what about you're the reason God gave me lungs
To shout your name from the highest of hills
And the reason He made those goosebumps things
When your touch keeps giving me chills

And what about those unanswered prayers
For He knew I was waiting for you
And the part where He says in sickness and health
And the cancer you're going through

For richer or poorer and our money is gone
Hospital bills that we just can't pay
But I want you to know if you stay or you go
I couldn't love you more than I do today