When I was nine,
I walked into my bedroom to find my favorite teddy bear, Waffles,
hanging by his neck from a piece of bailing twine
one of my brothers had attached to my pink porcelain light fixture.
His head was bent at an unnatural angle,
and the bottoms of his perfect paws
barely brushed the frilly canopy over my four-post bed.
I didn't stop screaming,
even after my father climbed up, untied him, and placed him in my arms.
Dad herded my brothers out of the room,
but I could still hear them laughing,
even over the sound of my own screams.
I couldn't stop trembling,
even when my mother chided,
"You know they only do these things because you let them get to you.
If you learned to ignore them, they'd leave you alone."
Her voice was sharper when she spoke again.
"You are too old to be acting like this.
Don't you know he's not real?"
I shook my head.
"He's dead!" I sobbed. "They killed him."
I didn't stop crying
until long after she left the room.
Even then, my breath came in choked gasps
as my mother's last words to me
replayed themselves over and over in my head.
'Don't you know he's not real?'
What my mother didn't know
was that sometimes,
in my nightmares,
neither was I.
Author notes
True story...
Hey Dragon baby! I'd love to be a sister...since my brothers were obviously a chore lol, and I never had a sissy of my own. LOVES!
A contest entry
- Prose by HereComesTheSun.
950 points, ended May 26, 51 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Comments
1 - 20 of 20
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Wow, this is a really powerful piece, and the ending is awesome. Wow, I'm really pretty much speechless. The descriptions and emotions are great.
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first onr of yours I ever read.
It loses nothing upon a second reading.
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Yeah, my oldest brother was a real brute to my bear also. I would get so angry at him and he would just laugh. Being an adult is better, no matter what some might think.
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a good piece, a mixture of smiles and frowns, i was smiling with the teddy imagery, but felt a little sorry for the girl, and the ending was a good twist to close up.
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oh my, the ending was fantastic and very chilling. I loved this. the story itself is so sad, but beautifully written.
you're an amazing writer!
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interesting aspect.
The imagination is a powerful tool in the land of childhood. Great poem, and great story. Well done!
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Profound
My heart goes out to the child in you. Children can be so cruel, but your mother, unfortunately, lost an opportunity to help you find what is real: love. Oh the raw pain of childhood experience and the missed chance the grownup. You shared it so well that it hurts. Authentic, flowing and raw. crystallady
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wow. this facinated me.
nice write. -
Hey Tabby! Of course you can be my sister, I read the first few lines of this I'm like. Oh! I know this person! 
I regconized your work! I'm proud of myself! 
Once again, I absolutly loved this piece, Definetly worth reading twice, even three times! Loves ya!
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This is such a heart breaking write. I love the way that you expressed yourself in thie piece. Thank you very much for your entry and I wish you all the best with it here! Take care and good luck!
Jeremy0826 -
Awesome Write
You did a really good job writing this story, you really are a great story writer and poet. You have a good way with words, great imagery, great emotion i love all of it, awesome job! -
this is so cute. shame it was really mean of them to do that. i love the ending,
great write, you conveyed your emotions well.
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you poor thing!
I thought I did terrible things to my lil' brother and sister. Good write this. I didn't get attached to any stuffed animal until I was older and didn't have as much support as I did as a kid
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I've had a astuffed monkey since I was 2 and I still believe he's real. lol I love the ending of this poem, too. I can relate very well to this. Excellent write.
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This hit home lass...
when i was a wee one my dad would get my stuffed animals and place them as if they were active while i was away...
i would walk in the room....i was about 4...and all my puppets and stuffed monkeys looked as though they were playing and had stopped where they were when i came in...
This of course amazed me....lol.and of course i thought it was real.........so i tried to keep catching them at play till me mum just blurted out that their not real and that dad played a joke on me......i remember being very sad and mad...
I remember having dreams where i prompted one of my little friends to inform my parents that i was not real....lol
that i was just something in their imagination....
so this is a very wild read for me...written of course by a writer who can convey thoughts so brilliantly...
Wild......!
This blew me a way on a personal level.
Much luv to you
little gypsy,
Billy
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oh my that's mean you know!!!
I know how you feel, I have blankets that I have had since I was a newborn, and I still sleep with them LOL.
Well this write did indeed captivate my attention, at first I thought it was going to be about a horror story, then I got to the ending, and realized this is actually a true story.
Really well done, I could imagine all the pain you went through, you described it so vividly and in detail.
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gave me chills
I love it. You had me hooked with the first line.Sounds like the begining of a good horror story until you read that whistful final line and you understand that there is a real person behind it,one who is not so sure she is real after all.Well done and keep writing.You are in my favorites for a reason.
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beautiful, emotional, amazing! I simply loved it! Wonderful write
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WOW OMG THIS IS AWESOME SO SO JEALOUS i love it i love u never stop writng
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Wow... That is an amazing write! I can relate to this well. A sad, but beautiful write never the less! Great work on trapping the emotion in this!!
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