Notes About The Poem

For the contest of Natasha L Scragg

 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

More Than a Soft Toy

As a child, I lined up my soft toys,
making of them all a big parade.
My mother tells me this.
I was too young to recall it now,
but I know inside my heart
I have a tender spot for animals.
I was drawn to cuddly ones
stuffed with bliss and fluff.

After I turned five,
my memories became more lucid.
I vividly recall a teddy bear named Pinky Winky.
He was a typical toy, but one thing was distinctive.
In one of his ears he had a bell,
so everywhere I went with him,
my sweet Pinky Winky would jingle.

One day when I was maybe eight,
Pinky Winky fell into the loo.
I was filled with anguish when I learned
my mother had tossed him to the trash.
Why couldn’t she have given him a wash?
I wept and wept for my beloved bear.
A pink substitute my mother bought for me,
but that one had no bell; I rarely played with it.

Pinky Winky’s demise corresponded with
the end of my beliefs in Santa Claus
and the tooth fairy, and it was a time
when I left behind much of my naivety.
It’s doubtful no other soft toy could have replaced
the death of my childhood innocence.
Copyright © | Year Posted 2025


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Date: 9/11/2025 5:19:00 PM
Very sad. It's so sad to disappoint children.
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Date: 9/5/2025 11:23:00 AM
What a wonderful yet sad write/story. Love your ending. Yes, a good bath was needed...  "Good Luck" We both did this one. Have a lovely day/weekend writing away............
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Date: 9/5/2025 5:06:00 AM
Yet that bell rung in the sea, washed to the shore of eternity -- innocence temporarily lost, forever with eternal love was worth any journey's cost. That bell rings in your fine poetry. Freed from one ear, so all may hear. Born the poetry of a reverberating heart. That bell was a lifelong start. Good luck in contest.
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Dietrich Avatar
Andrea Dietrich
Date: 9/5/2025 9:38:00 AM
So sweet, Joe. Thanks
Date: 9/5/2025 3:05:00 AM
That's a lot to go thru at approximately 4th grade age. I held on just fine, my composure stayed until the last stanza when you lost too much for my emotions to ignore. Happy stanza report, serious report, I'm-mad stanza followed by there's-no-Santa stanza. I just 'watched' you change from a lighthearted child to a cynical thinker before your body was old enough to match (I'm assuming.) Good job moving me, Andrea ... CayCay
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