This poem by the Revd Andy Edmeads, Anglican priest and hospice chaplain, appears in Chaplaincy in Hospice and Palliative Care (ed Murphy and Whorton) and is used with the author’s permission.
Twenty six letters in the alphabet Mixed together to make up words which explain everything So why is it so hard to find the right words? This poem is a contradiction Words trying to express the inexpressible Words count for so little In the face of this enormity This full stop marking the end of a sentence Which is life Words dry up and leaving them behind Another language is rediscovered The forgotten language of tears, a smile, Touch – a hand On the shoulder, a hug, perhaps even silence If I dare No more words. What is needed now is that The Words become flesh. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us