The Bear _ a poem by Yuri Kageyama

It still sits crumply

With bit of a stunned look,

That first thing you bought me

More than 40 years ago

“Into that little girl thing,” you said,

Like calling out a pretense,

But you knew all along it was true

Like our love;

“After I’m gone,” you said,

“I want you to live a full life.”

You didn’t say “a happy life,”

That would be too hard:

Just “a full life.”  

Days, weeks, months,

Years after you’re gone,

Piercing my heart,

Squeezing out tears,

The bear is still here,

Dry cleaned once or twice,  

Watching me

Sitting prim

People say things have little meaning, and it’s just the person or the emotions that the thing reminds you of that have meaning. Sometimes they are one and the same thing because if you have something for more than 40 years, that certainly means something, and that thing has a meaning of its own. People leave, taking off from this world and going somewhere very far. But the thing stays. And it continues to tell us what that person means. Because that person never really leaves. He is always here, just like, or even more than, that thing. This is the fourth in a series that follows this third piece, which has a link that connects to the previous pieces. After this are three more: “Love Simply” and “What Do You Think?” as well as “Your Music.” And I get the feeling there will be more because that feeling never dies.