The house was perfect
No matter how small.
Forget the broken window,
The stain on the carpet floor.

The explosion of toys over the floor,
The tea parties,
Cubby houses,
And Zombies at the park.
The urgent rush to tidy up
Before mum walked in the door.

Stories with Dad
A run-away lawn mower,
Bruce the shark.

On Christmas mornings,
When we would wake up,
To find map,
Guiding us to the treasure

In this house, I learnt what having a brother was like,
lots of cars
lots of trucks
lots of blocks

Where I learnt to walk
And talk
And laugh
Where I discovered the power of words,
The importance of doing your best
Taking pride in your work.
Treating others with kindness,
Not putting yourself first.

All the memories,
Echoes of laughter
The photos of a happy family
Like trophies on a shelf.

Clocks ticking,
Moving fast
Too fast.

Until one day,
We outgrew the house,
Small was just too small,
Where would we find space,
For the things that needed a place?

So, we packed up and left
Shutting the door
On memories and expired dreams
That weren’t around anymore

But we set off,
To make another house of bricks,
a perfect home.