Flowers in Her Hands

He was selling dirt worms out in the summer sun And she came by on her pedal bike And she said, "What you doin' boy?" with her cheeks full of bubblegum And sat down on his apple box and smiled She said, "I'm missing one front tooth, but I could be some company" So they spent that summer diggin' holes down by the stream She'd say, "You're my best friend, the first one I ever had" He'd just smiled and said, "I love you" without a word He'd put some flowers in her hands As they sat there in the sand On the bank of the river Well, he was never good at sayin' what was on his heart And those three words never came out And she grew up and fell in love with his quiet charm And if it hurt her she didn't tell 'Cause he knew how to say I love you in every other way He tried his best to show it on their wedding day When she said "You're my best friend The first one I ever had" He'd just smiled and said "I love you" without a word He'd put some flowers in her hands As they stood there in the sand On the bank of the river They had years of life And their cup overflowed It came time for him to walk some of them alone And he said "You were my best friend, the only one I really had Oh, how I wish you could have heard me say those words" And he put some flowers in her hands As he laid her in the sand And cried that he loved her On his knees By the river --- Flowers in Her Hands - Dean Brody