Dinghy

Someone once gave us a dinghy, 7foot pram, old
We’ve had it 30 years now
So much fun
Teaching kids to row
And water fights and fishing
Its chipped timbers have absorbed a lot of laughter
We’ve painted and repainted
Old bits of paint from pots under the shed
And mended splits and cracks

A heart is like a dinghy
Its rhythm is laughter and passion
And it can be broken

This heart of mine has been smashed
On the rocks of grief and loss
But it’s been put back together
With kindness

I used to think kindness
Was like a warm blanket
Comforting and cosy
But now I see kindness
As a fibreglass sheet –
Dipped in the resin of love
And wrapped around this patched up vessel

A heart still scarred but made stronger than ever
It can weather the storms again
And laugh with the waves
7/11