For DversePoets: Meeting The Bar Prompt
Cold nose pressed
To winter’s window
My long eyelashes
Splashed with-
Almost tears – Fear
Kissed cheeks burn
Time passes so slowly
When little hands
Mind the clock, “Stop-
It’s okay, she’s fine-
Just late” -reminding
Myself to breathe
Each time a car
Isn’t her’s again-
I trace half of a heart
Into the frosted fog
And my little eye
Keeps watch through
The blurring lines,
Hugging Amadeus
Cheek nuzzled to
His ever fuzzy ear
To wipe away a
Stubborn tear
“Now, now, don’t
You worry, she’s
Coming to get us”
Gretchen Leary 2013
Note: I was such a worrier as a child. Naturally my mother always showed up. I was just anxious. And I actually did not get Amadeus until later on in life. I’m not sure what teddybear I had at that time. That was just an added touch.
dVersePoets is really bringing back the memories tonight!
Gretchen Venters 
as a child i had a panda teddy bear…named teddy…smiles…i still have him actually…well my son does…but everything is so much bigger as a child too..you know…even the worry…a tender moment gretchen..smiles.
That is so sweet that you passed him on!
You have written a lovely voice in this poem, expressing the child’s anxiety well. “Time passes so slowly when little hands mind the clock.” I also really like that she keeps reassuring her teddy. Sweet, sweet poem.
I got excited when that line came to me. I pictured a child counting their fingers and then readjusting the clocks hands with their hands 🙂
ah, the gift of compassion toward people maybe… really felt your tension
I seem to almost always be tense. High stress most of the time. Always calming down but it sure does help me write 🙂
dogs always seem worried. the other day, i was with friends, and their dog was worried every time we got off the highway, like we might leave her in the car when we got to the destination. my dogs worry about something else for each of them.
for the thousandth time
Hehe Amadeus is a teddybear
OHHHHHHH!!!!
But dogs are fun 🙂
oh minutes can feel like hours in such moments…felt worries…took me back to some own childhood memories as well..
This memory stood out so much not just because it was practically a daily ritual to wait by the window but because years later I became a nanny for a little girl in that same house (different family, weird right?) and she did something similar one day
I always worried that I left my children worrying in such ways…felt so guilty as a working mother..oh, they say they didn’t but I think they did…;)
My mother was a single mom and although we have never been close I have always admired her drive to provide what I needed 🙂
I can relate to the anxieties of waiting and waiting ~ I don’t think I had a teddy bear, yours was a nice touch ~ Thanks for sharing ~
Thank-you Grace!
my dog ate big bear. time happens at a different speed when youre small. great poem.
Beautiful–so sad and lonesome, really brought out my compassion for the little girl!
Hi Nico, sometimes I think I pity my younger self which is not a great mindset but I was always so worried as a child (still an anxious person) and I feel that it truly limited my childhood in so many ways. Thank-you for stopping by as always 🙂
I understand the worrying….and also you telling the teddy bear not to worry, your way of reassuring yourself. Everyone, even children, needs someone to reassure, I think….and protect….and love, as you loved your teddy bear.
You’ve got it Mary. You hit the nail on the head. I became “The Protector” because I wanted protection
I love this – the worrying, the faithful bear, the reassurance. Really well done!
Thank-you. Amadeus sits in a corner of my work cubicle now
Thank-you 🙂
Love the voice in this. You capture he fretful, worried child quite well!
It helps to be an anxious adult to write it as well 🙂
haha. I was going to say something, but held my tongue. 🙂
I’ve had this experience, too, Gretchen. Your writing in this is especially evocative, inviting us to feel that worry. I’m an anxious adult, too. I like to excuse it as a creative edge. Oh well.
Worries are always extra big as a kid. Fortunately the when there is a teddybear that need our consolation. 🙂
So very true. Teddybears are an amazing coping device for all ages, maybe just not as public at all ages 🙂
Such a beautifully written piece, Gretchen. You have a gift and so happy to have come across you visiting my site and at dVerse.
This is so very very true. I tend to be very protective of those who I care about and I seek that same protection from others too. I took a personality quiz once and it said my personality type is called “The Protector” 🙂
Gretchen, I can’t tell you how many times I anxiously waited for my mother to pick me up from numerous events. Such a burden for a worrying child! Your poem brought those memories back. Alas, I had no teddybear with which to share my frustration. I’m glad you did.
I’ve had many teddybears in my life but as a very small child (2-3?) I carried around a blanket with satin edges. They eventually cut off the satin edges because it got..yuck lol
….and in so few lines you managed to let us feel your heart in it Gretchen… the waiting can be too long and worrying and sad but not too much when we have such a warming companion by our side… excellent poem… smiles…
Great capture of a child’s anxiety–
Oh, so well done, Gretchen. you have caught that fear of abandonment so well.
Sadly, I think the reason I am able to capture it is, that even though I have aged, that fearful little girl who is always afraid of being left behind is still inside of me. I actually touched on this briefly in my “Can I Hug You” blog post (Under the Autism Category if you’re interested 🙂
I will read that, Gretchen. I think we all have children inside us still–I know mine is alive and well.