Teddy Remembers

Teddy Remembers
By Tim Norman

My life as a bear you’d think had been good
Treasured and loved by this child as I should

You’d be mistaken that my life was so swell
Sometimes I thought, “I must be in hell!”

Dragged and dropped and squeezed and stretched
Tossing me far so a dog could play fetch

I’ve lost one eye and most of my fur
Stains from drinks and vomit for sure

All still evident despite many trips
To washers and dryers from many a slip

I’ve played in the sand and been left in the rain
I even have ridden on a long toy train

I’ve tortured the cat and tugged war with the dog
I’ve been dragged on the sidewalk and over a log

Now after years’ the time it has flown
The child over time has long since grown

My life goes on in this dark box
Crowded and cramped with a toy fox

Now I’m just something to remember
On a birthday sometime in December

But my life fared better than some of the toys
For after one day to the trash was deployed

Some toys were left buried in the dirt
Or quickly became the dog’s dessert

No more thrills
No more spills

No longer am I held tightly at night
Protecting the child from nightmarish fright

I could have been dismembered!
Like the stuffed cat I remember.

I guess I’m lucky to have been loved so much
A plaything to be carried and handled and touched

So what if I have scars and stains and rips
What an honor to have been kissed... despite missing lips