The crystal bowl
A wedding gift
too precious to be broken
too beautiful to be stuck at the back of a cupboard
So, placed on a bench
Where the sun shone through the window
Rainbows danced on the wall
As the sun rose and set and the clouds moved around the sky
The bowl sat
Proudly for a while
Dusted regularly
Occasionally washed
in hot, soapy water
atop a folded tea-towel at the bottom of the sink
It remained on the bench for years
Just out of reach of sticky, inquisitive fingers
But when the family grew
Taller and busier
The bowl collected paraphernalia
The reliable place to find the keys
and stray coins
and springs that pop out of pens
and washers that somehow manage to find themselves loose
and lolly-wrappers
and dead batteries
No more did the sun shine through it
It lay
Forgotten
Clouded in dust
Ugly dust-bowl in its emptiness
—–
When dust and teens overwhelmed her
Mother cleared it out
Washed it
In hot, soapy water
Rainbows danced in the bubbles
As she lifted the bowl from the sink
A sliver of sunlight caught a facet of the crystal
A rainbow danced on the wall in front of her
Reminding her
Restored to its proper place
on the cleared, dusted, polished bench
The crystal bowl gleamed
No room for emptiness
No lack of purpose
Full of fresh, nourishing fruit
A new depth of colour and fulfillment
The crystal bowl
Beauty in its design
Life in its purpose.