Little Bunny

When I was seven, my dad bought you for me

It was love at first sight

Fluffy brown fur

Long floppy ears

A sweet pink nose

And a soft voice box

So shiny and new

You were just like me

Pure and innocent

Untainted by age

Blind to the harsh truths of life

When I was thirteen, I was in middle school

Completely insecure

Burdened with expectation

Tormented by the need for perfection

Your naivety, your free-spiritedness

You reflected the part of me that I no longer wanted to see

Wholly different from the person I needed to be

It pained me to put you away

But to grow up

You could no longer stay

When I was 20, I held you in my arms again

Still right where I left you

All those years ago

It felt like greeting an old friend

Your fur is matted

And your little nose is caught with loose threads and no longer pink

Your voice box is forever silenced by the funny tricks of time

But even with all these little changes

Over the passage of time

That has spanned across both of our lifetimes

I can still feel the wonder in your eyes