Ode to my Teddy Bear

Ode to my Teddy Bear
By Talia Goodman

Ode to my Teddy,
My old weathered friend,
Who's stuck with me through the good and the bad
After all these years.

Your once shining gallant blue fur
Has long since faded to gray
And with it you have become an old man.
But in the glimmer of your eye,
I still see that brilliant knight,
Flashing a smile with his non-existent mouth
At a small girl...

Clutching her grandmother with one hand,
And sucking her thumb with the other. She wanted that wonderful
Teddy up high on the shelf she couldn't reach.

Proudly she stood on her toes and laid the money on
the counter.
And then she trotted out with her prize.

Look at us, Teddy. After all these years
I'm older now. I go places, have a life.
And yet, you, who was always so dear and loyal.
Day after Day, waits patiently for me to come home.
Even though I no longer greet you.
Even though I never take you places anymore.

Look at you.
Your faded fur, from too many hugs,
Your chewed on nose and your
Withered eyes.

Your beanie baby button,
looking so misplaced on you,
A full-sized Teddy Bear.

According to your tag,
Your made of polyester fibers
and P.E. Pellets
But none of that matters to me
To me your just my Teddy Bear.