The teddy bear
soft with brown fur,
frowning with sadness,
as his beady glass eyes,
staring at me,
Asking:
“Why haven’t you played with me?
Why don’t we talk?”
To be honest I forgot
about him just like I forgot
the stuffed elephant
the Giraffe and even the monkey.
But the bear-
he was special,
He was there everyday
for every year,
when I was crying,
when I was bored,
when I needed a friend.
Until he wasn’t.
Then I had a new companion
Not a friend.
Not someone I love.
But is required to be with me.
My future requires him.
My happiness later
in life depends on him.
It has many layers,
homework, teachers,
peer pressure and bullying,
stress and anxiety.
It is so much
I almost hate it.
But it brings me no joy,
not like the teddy bear-
who slumps down,
worn apart by age,
frizzing at the end
of his feet, fading
under the shadow
of my past.
As its little ear is holding on
by the threads,
so is everything
in my life,
coming apart
every day I age.
James Bowie High School
12