Take one bear
(Of the small, soft sort.)
Fill a sink
(Not too deep.)
Add detergent. Make bubbles.
Roll up sleeves. And breathe.
Distract Bear
(‘Oh look – a hiker!’)
Then grab him
Chuck him in
And scrub. Paws, ears, tail and snoot
Need most attention.
Haul Bear out
Check for vital signs.
Ready? Go!
Straight back in.
(As a rule, two goes round are
The bare minimum).
Grime all gone?
Good. Time to rinse him.
(Be aware:
Even small
Specimens can weigh as much
As the real thing now.)
Let Bear lie
Sink-side for a spell;
Limp, half-drowned,
Matted, cold.
(A sight best kept from the more
Sensitive owner.)
Squeeze him dry
(Size and stuffing type
Will have some
Bearing on
How long this takes.) In a towel
Give a big bear hug.
Finally
Peg out, by the ears.
Not as cruel
As it sounds:
The wind fluffs up the fur – and
Bears love line dancing.
Now he’s clean.
But won’t stay that way:
He’s ready
To be stained
With tears, battered, crushed, held tight
Whenever you are.
Oh this is fabulous Nick! What a heartwarming poem to start my day, just my kind of poem! I can so very well relate to the cleaning of soft bears and the like. You are an absolute star at the Shadorma. I have yet to try one, although I have managed another sonnet called “Bees”. Im pretty much obsessed with them! I may post it next time. x
Thank you, as always! My daughter bought the bear in question for three euros at a ‘vide grenier’ (jumble sale) while we were on holiday in France; I wrote the poem after we spent a soapy half-hour getting him clean enough for polite company. He’s been through the washing machine since we returned home: more effective, perhaps, but a lot less poetic! Can definitely recommend the shadorma – and very much want to read your Bees 🙂 N.xx
Haha! There is very little that is poetic about a washing machine but Im sure you could do it! I hope your daughter has many happy years with her bear in his/her new forever home 😊 x
Oh, he’s going to be fine. He’s joining an enormous menagerie of much-loved ‘animaux en peluche’, some of whom have been with her since she was born! N.xx
Yep! I understand. We have a bear here who is now 41 years old! (our son’s teddy!) with arms hanging off and replacement felt eyes sewn on by me. He now sleeps with the grandchildren when they come to stay 😊. I darent wash him jow; I think it would lead to his demise! 😊 x
Hmm, I sense a challenge there…a washing machine poem. Leave it with me… 🙂
😄😄
Brilliant poem! It seems we both like teddy bears … http://fryyourfriends.wordpress.com/2014/07/30/28/
Thanks, James – love your work, too.
That’s highly entertaining Nick!
Thank you, John – I needed something to get me back into writing after what seems like a long ‘dry’. Glad you liked it! N.
Lovely Nick! I don’t have good memories of teddy bears but I can imagine some people get comfort from them 🙂 You describe well how a teddy should be 🙂 And stains come anyway, cleaning them won’t help for long. I am glad to see you are back writing! 🙂 x
Thank you, Ina – like you, I wasn’t really a ‘teddy bear person’ as a child, but my daughter definitely is! And it’s great to be writing again. N.xx
🙂
The previous owner must be really glad to see his/her teddy find a new home. My son no longer needs his stuffed animals at night, but I just can’t get round to throwing them away. I keep them loose around the living room and that seems to keep them happy. Heaven knows what they get up to at night; I often find them doing pyramids and all sorts of things in the morning.
Ayano xxx
Lovely to hear from you, Ayano. I think stuffed animals probably do have a secret life; I can feel another poem coming on…N.xx