My Last Real Toy
When I was really small, I loved my trike,
and then I graduated to a bike.
I also liked to skip, so mother bought
A jump rope that I used an awful lot.
It seems I really loved to hop around,
to have my feet come off, then back on ground.
I got a pogo stick I used all year
and wore out quickly once I learned to steer!
At 15, I was not the same small kid,
for there were other fun things that I did.
However, I still liked some childish things
like Sting Ray bikes and trampolines and swings.
That year appeared in stores a brand new toy,
a grand delight for every girl and boy.
And though a woman I had now become,
that Christmas I just had to have me one!
This last “real” toy of mine I won’t forget
because it brought me also some regret.
A toy once you start, you can hardly stop:
Can you guess? It was the Hoppity Hop.
This toy was just a big strong rubber ball.
You’d grip its handles so you wouldn’t fall.
I loved to bounce around the yard on it,
and all I had to do was simply sit!
A boy I kind of liked showed up one day.
I didn’t know he’d come and seen me play
until I got up off that crazy ball
and went to tell him “hi,” but that’s not all. . .
I learned the back side of my shorts had split.
The whole time he was there, I never knew it.
My sisters later told me. Well, that guy
simply stayed and didn’t bat an eye!
I felt so idiotic and was sure
he must have found me kind of immature,
a grown girl hopping all around her lawn!
But worse was how I felt once he had gone.
He’d seen my shorts ripped from behind, and then
said nothing. I could not face him again.
So silly! He still liked me after all. . .
but I abandoned him and that dang ball!
For Paula Swanson's "Childhood Memory" Contest
Copyright © Andrea Dietrich | Year Posted 2011
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