Teddy! You’ve Changed

I remember you, Teddy Bear,
your scraggly, scruffiness, after
years of being thrown, punched,
used to beat my brother, strung up,
jumped on and occasionally
taken to bed because I cared.

You, two-toned brown
and dusty gray friend,
with rips under your stubby arms,
threads where eyes once rolled,
a little red tongue, now torn,
just hanging as if panting.

I wonder where you are now?

Oh, surely not one hundred feet
deep in a land-fill. Oh, maybe
you have been transformed.

I hear your name being called, Teddy.
I hear you are now multi-colored,
with striping. You are silken,
with lacing and shimmering.
You can even be folded!

Teddy! You've Changed!
But I still want to see you
and touch you, even though you
may belong to another.
Maybe we could arrange a meeting.
You could bring your friend.
Males don't usually have them
but we could call it a sleep-over.

Wouldn't that be fun,
just to touch you again.

**** **** **** **** **** ****

Published in the Progenitor, 2008
Arapahoe Community College
Littleton, Colorado