My Friend

A poem about a little lady, a teddy bear and life in a nursing home.

I want you to meet a friend of mine;
He's brown and furry.
He has a button for his nose
and buttons for his eyes.
You squeeze him here... he laughs
and a squeeze here...he cries.

He talks to me when no one else will.
He says, "Hello, good-bye, and
Won't you be my friend?"
I always talk back to him.
He makes me happy and
he never makes me sad.

He reminds me of my childhood,
holding him makes me feel safe
in a world I no longer understand.
His hair is soft and his body is warm.
I can hold him for hours,
he brightens up my day.

I now have a real friend,
She talks to me when
I talk to her.
She makes me happy; she makes me smile,
It's like we've been friends
all our lives.

Together we pass the endless time
holding bear, sitting in chairs.
Returning each others stares.
Sometimes the three of us are
joined by others...but
they don't interrupt us
in our little "bearable" world.

May 97