Trails like Stuffed Animals
Stuffed animals are for the lost
and the sad
for the hopeful, the happy
for kid and the dad.
Passed to me
by someone I know
I notice its tufts
beginning to show
sometimes alone
or with a friend
I often imagine
it has no end.
Over time
more wear, more love
unraveling slowly
through push and shove.
With trails like stuffed animals
there’s no rule or should
my nightmares and my dreams
roam free in the woods.
The trail
is my childhood
stuffed animal
it gives and gives
and takes nothing at all.

Photo Courtesy of Alexi Pappas