Briefly Banishing the Emptiness

When Kirstin came to stay
I repossessed our bedroom.
Quietly reassuring, her presence warded off
the dreadful aloneness that came in the night.
A cuddle before bedtime, the simple companionship
of a meal shared restored a quality of life to the house
that has been missing for too long.
Then, last week Megan and little Roddy arrived.
At two and a half the curly haired redhead travels light.
No emotional baggage weighs down his view of the world.
He was not aware of a shrine or museum to Macfarlane.
With eyes wide open, by osmosis, he knew the legacy
of the man's welcoming smile. The pond in the garden,
water bubbling up through the shard of slate
inspired a gravitational pull on Roddy's imagination
that would have fed Macfarlane's joy.
The hours spent planning and creating this feature
were rewarded by such innocent delight.
The watering-can was filled and refilled
to perpetuate its gurgling flow.
Inside, Roddy saw a "sunshine room "
through the shadows of recent gloom.
The secret learned is this.
Do not leave a vacant space to become derelict.
Occupy it with smiles and simple pleasures
just as we both dreamed it could be, always.

Brave words, easier said than done
but trying.

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