More than Two Million

A poem dedicated to the more than 2 million people in the UK who suffer from loneliness.

In a cupboard not opened in years, cold cups sit covered in dust,
and memories rest on saucers, and she always thinks: I must
give some of these away - I don't use them anymore,
I barely boil the kettle even (there's no one to boil it for).

All this crockery has become a graveyard, she could tell you how
each friend had a mug they preferred to drink from, (and where they're buried now).

She could tell you how quickly a pint of milk disappears,
with for friends, round for cuppas, and gossip, sat all-ears.

She could tell you how, treating heartbreak, once your husband dies,
is done with other widows who dry each other's eyes.

But what happens when those other widows die?
What happens when you're the only one left with eyes to dry?

She could tell you how heavy silence feels, alone,
how when insurance scammers ring now, she keeps them on the phone,
just to feel something like human, that week.
She could tell you how she worries that she'll forget soon how to speak.

Composed by:

Summer Jade Dolan