Poem: "The Necessary Bear"

[ysabetwordsmith]

This poem came out of the December 4, 2012 Poetry Fishbowl.  It was inspired by a prompt from the_vulture and discussion with my_partner_doug.  It has been sponsored by Anthony & Shirley Barrette.  This poem belongs to the series Monster House, which you can explore further on the Serial Poetry page.

The Necessary Bear

The monster-under-the-bed
had a teddy bear of his very own.

He kept it hidden most of the time,
but we'd caught glimpses over the years.

The day my daughter started high school,
I found him sitting on her bed,
holding his bear.

It was a very old bear,
plainly one of the first ever made:
the kind with jointed legs and a long snout
and beady black eyes made of glass.

If you tipped the head down
and then back up again,
the bear would growl.

The monster-under-the-bed
sat on my daughter's velveteen quilt
and hugged his bear.

"My first child gave me this,"
he said to me,
"when she left to get married."

I was suddenly reminded
how much older  monsters could be
compared to humans,
how many people they must have known
and parted from over the years.

"It's just high school,"
I reminded him.
"My daughter isn't leaving soon."

"She's growing up, though,"
said the monster-under-the-bed.
"Kids tend to do that," I agreed.

He moved the bear's head
forward and back,
making it growl.

"Many monsters are just figments,"
he mused, "imaginary friends
that come, and then go
when they aren't needed anymore."
He stroked the bear's plush fur.
"This helped me hold myself together
after my first girl was gone.
It's necessary to have an anchor."

"So the story's true then?"
I asked him.
"Love makes you real?"

He shrugged and said,
"Love makes everyone  real."

I sat beside him on my daughter's bed,
wrapped an arm around to hug him
and the necessary bear, and said,
"Yeah, it does that."

Comments

[the-vulture.livejournal.com]

This piece was particularly poignant for me.

*hugs*

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you found it so touching. People think of comfort toys as being for kids, but sometimes, kids aren't the only ones who need them.

Re: *hugs*

[zeeth_kyrah]

Policemen in various places have gotten into the habit of carrying teddy bears in their patrol cars. A lot of accident victims end up needing them.

Re: *hugs*

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

Yes, I read about that when I was researching teddy bears. It's a good way to lower the emotional damage quotient.

Re: *hugs*

[mdlbear]

I have my comfort toys, too. I feel as though I've grown *into* them over the last few years.

[technoshaman.livejournal.com]

Brother, you *are* a bear, you know this...

And ysabetwordsmith.... *snif* *hugs*

p.s. shared...

Yes...

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

I have several cuddly bears in my audience, come to think of it.

*hugs* I'm glad folks are enjoying this poem so much.

[rhodielady-47.livejournal.com]

Me too.
:)