Teddy Bear

Brown, slightly lumpy

My oldest friend

With one leg longer than the other

My aunt sewed her

And presented my bear to me

On the day I was born

(Or so my mother told me)

Her musty fur is soft

And has been soaked with many tears

Breakups, disappointments, sadness

Fearful tears when my parents shouted

Her round ears hold all my secrets

All my confessions

All my pride and shame

And yet, I have never disappointed her

That curved smile is always there

Sewed onto her kind brown face

Rain, hail, shine

Whether I squeeze her in a fierce hug

Or throw her against the wall

Her steady eyes always stare

With love and understanding

One day, my brother tore off her arm

He laughed and pretended

Her arm was a poop

I cried and screamed at him

He couldn't understand what he'd done

How he'd hurt her

How that hurt me

But my teddy understood

She sat quietly as I threaded the needle

And sewed her back together

Her arm was never the same

Pinned to her side with jagged black stitches

No longer able to rotate

But she never complained

Her smile never waivered

Her eyes held no recrimination

When I went overseas, I stored her

Packed into a cardboard box

No room in my backpack for my oldest friend

And she's waiting still

I hadn't thought of her in months

And now my arms itch

To draw her into a fierce embrace

To once again soak that fur with my tears

To feel that rare feeling

The one friend who I will never disappoint

Who will never think I have let them down

No matter how long they have waited

Crammed in a dark cardboard box

Starved for air and light

I know that when I pull her out

Her smile will be just as bright

Her eyes just as understanding

So blessed am I

To have an aunt who sewed

Her love into a teddy bear

A bear for no-one else but me