[Verse 1] I needed someone to hold me close, Close enough to hear my heart. I needed words, I needed knowing You were with me in the dark. And when I couldn't reach you, I'd sit with tears I couldn't hide, Feeling like I carried everything Even with you by my side. [Pre-Chorus] I thought I was asking you to love me, I didn't know what I carried in. A heart already filled with questions From long before our love began. [Chorus] I was listening for your love While you were showing it to me. I was waiting for the words While your hands spoke quietly. Every time you said, "I'll take care of it," You were giving me your heart. I couldn't always feel your love then, But I can see your love now. [Verse 2] You learned so young to need so little, To carry hurt and carry on. And twenty-seven years of hurting Still didn't stop you showing up. If one of your girls needed something, There was never any doubt— Seven in the morning, you were going, You'd already figured it out. [Pre-Chorus] And I came reaching for connection, Afraid that love could disappear. You came loving us through service, Making sure that you were near. [Chorus] I was listening for your love While you were showing it to me. I was waiting for the words While your hands spoke quietly. Every time you said, "I'll take care of it," You were giving me your heart. I couldn't always feel your love then, But I can see your love now. [Bridge] My honesty was hard to hear sometimes, Because my truth came wrapped in pain. I wasn't saying you weren't enough, I was trying to feel safe again. I worked so hard to shape my needs To fit the love that you could give. We were two childhoods in one marriage, Learning how to love and live. And maybe when I reached too hard, You didn't know how to come near. I spent years asking why you couldn't, Before I saw what brought you here. [Final Chorus] For nearly thirty-two years beside you, I kept listening in my own way. But your love was in the thousand things You quietly did each day. In your loyalty, in your giving, In showing up despite your pain. You loved your girls without a limit, Never asking for the same. I searched so long to find your heart— Oh Art, I know where it was now. It was in your hands, It was in your staying, In every quiet thing you did. I couldn't always hear your love then... But, my love, I can see it now.
