Aww what the heck...another poem..The little teddy bear

[The Straight Story]

(Thanks to Tom Y Joad for starting some poetry threads! - this one is a favorite of mine, a story poem, a little long, hope it brings a smile!)

The Little Teddy Bear

1916
Winds of war blow across the land
Shells fall, whistling their death tune
Gunshots near the village
Tanks and men

A little boy huddles under his bed
Hiding
Clutching all he has left
A teddy bear

Ragged, but sewn well
Buttons for eyes
Small bow upon it’s neck
Soft

His parents gone
The Germans
A wounded GI had found him
And given to him the little Bear

Days come and go
Chilly nights
Warmed only by the touch
Of his cuddly bear

War is over
An orphanage
He clings to his only possession
Now wet with many tears


1944
War again
He marches into battle
Gun at side
Bear, in his backpack

Across fields he runs
Avoiding land mines
Gun fire
Shells

At night
When he sits alone
Out comes his little bear
And away goes the fear

Winter sets in
He is still alive
They come to a small village
In France

Christmas night
War rages on for the town
They break through
And liberate it

House to house
Searching for the enemy
Until he hears her
A little child, crying

He kneels
And looks under the bed
She recoils in fear
Whimpering

Gun set aside
He opens his pack
One last time his hands touch
His little bear

He smiles at it
Then at her
She sees the bear
His smile

His hand slides under the bed
She takes it
Emerging from her hiding place
Clothes tattered and torn

She looks up at him
Tears streaking her little face
Looks at his little bear
And opens her arms

It passes then
From man to child
For once in so many years
He lets it go

She hugs it
Holds it tight
And weeps
Upon her little bear

Final Chapter
She carried that bear
For all her years
As she lay upon her deathbed
He was there

No fear
As she passed on that Fall night
Her arms tightly holding
Her little bear

It baffled them
As they read her will
Everything went to her family
Except that teddy bear

On Christmas eve
A little boy
In his hospital bed
Waited for Santa

He awoke
Still dark outside
Somewhere over the speakers
Silent night played softly

A package was there
Next to his bed
Tied in a ribbon
Bright, cheery and red

He tore it open
Joy on his face
And laying within
A little teddy bear

He hugged it
And kissed it
Named it Ted
Then brushed off all the leaves it had

He thought it odd
Leaves covered it
And it seemed cold and a little wet
He snuggled it hard, and with it he slept

The attorney sat that night
Remembering the will
He found it strange
What she had said

Take this bear, and give it a box
Put it upon my grave
On my estate plot
And let it be

For it won’t stay
When it is needed
May it find it’s way
To a child’s arms

Slightly snoring, the little boy slept
A leaf caught in his hair
The bear woke up, and look about
Blew the leaf off
And hugged his little boy

[kineneb]

1. beautiful

you made me cry...I love my little stuffed friends...:cry:

[The Straight Story]

6. Thank you!

Meant to reply last night but got lost in a sea of poetry posts :)

I don't know what it is about some stuffed little animal that gets people going, but I feel the same way at times as well. Weird the psychology of it (and I still miss Marty Moose, used to hug him in bed!).

Funny aside: When my son was little we got him Gizmo, from Gremlins. He held on to that thing everywhere we went.

When he was 10 his mom and I split, and when he was 12 I lost him and his brothers as the wife would not let me see them anymore.

FF to today and two things: One, he is 20, X passed on, and I asked him about Gizmo. He kept him all these years but after his mom died he gave it to his little sister (half sister, not my daughter) to comfort her (and this was years after I wrote this poem).

Second thing: My wife's best friend - One of his closest friends died, turns out he was the guy who came up with the original drawings for Gizmo, and passed them all on to him (and he wants me to make a web site in his honor). This happend 3 months before my son found me.

Damned weird!

[kineneb]

9. our stuffies

occupy most of our house. Between Hubby & I, we have more than 50 stuffed friends, mostly raccoons and frogs, but also lots of bears, and some penguins (Linux fans) as well. They sit on the sofa, on our beds, on shelves, and even on our computer monitors. They are members of our family.

When Hubby has to go to the hospital (which is all too often), he takes Floppy the Raccoon along. Floppy even has hospital ID tags, one on each front leg. The staff has gotten used to the guy with the stuffed raccoon. When I had surgery on my ankle, Socrates the Raccoon came with me.

I dressed one of my bears up as Henry VIII, with a little shirt, doublet and slops (underbritches). I still need to make his hat, Schaube (over jacket) and a pair of shoes. I have another bear I want to dress as an Elizabethan noble lady, someday. It is so much easier to costume a critter than a full-sized human. But I don't dare forget the ear holes in their hats, or they get really upset.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

2. Love it! I did a short story once called "the Night The Teddy Bears Walked

In which all the children of the world left after peace talks failed. This reminded me of it in a very nice way.

Thanks for sharing it with us!

[The Straight Story]

3. Well ya can't leave me hanging :)

Toss out the story somewhere so I can read it :)

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

5. It's lost forever....

It may still exist in the bottom of a trunk at my ex's... That's the only hope I have of finding it again.

It started in some garbage heaps in Nicaraugua where a child shows some Christ-like qualities and disappears in a blinding flash of light. It was inspired by my 2 year old daughter who came downstairs one night and cried "Teddy Bears Walking!" She had a Teddy Bear Border around the top of her room and that started the juices going.

Mebbe I'll try and recreate it some day.

[karlrschneider]

4. Nice pome

;-)

[Booster]

7. Wow, that is really beautiful. Mind if I send this to some people

I know? I especially loved the end. Very, very well done.

[The Straight Story]

8. Feel free, please - and more in the lounge tonight

I appreciate the kind words. Posted several tonight in the lounge, have more to go. Just a reflective night I guess...