I miss hearing “good morning Mr.Bear”

And being Her best friend,

It felt long ago when Our story came to an end.

The beginning of this bear no longer having care.

I saw Her grow from a girl into a woman,

I thought this experience was beautiful

But this change made me wish I was human.

If only aging were removable.

She’d still be the five year old,

The girl I met outside of my box.

Not the teenager, who feels cold,

The one to me she no longer talks.

Many things have changed,

Five going on eleven.

Why couldn’t they stay unchanged?

I was left alone with my question.

The fairies on her wall began to disappear,

Her decorated wall was now all pink.

She let out a happy cheer

As my heart started to sink.

Came your eleventh birthday

You got big girl items.

My heart broke the way

I saw you were excited for each item.

The same way you were excited for me

When your dad gifted me under the tree.

I saw boxes similar to mine, they held something new,

A bunch of craft items and video games too.

I got demoted to the shelf.

I was sad and alone,

I was left by myself,

Thinking of the unknown.

Dust accumulated on my red sweater

That she had made for me.

Internally I was a beggar

Still wishing she’d need me.

My brown coat lost its shade 

I couldn’t recognize myself

This shelf was a downgrade

I started to think more on the topshelf

Will she get rid of me,

The way she got rid of the rest?

I wish you were still five

So I could still be a part of Your life.

Edited by Ava Garcia

Artist Statement: I wrote Left On The Shelf during the winter quarter of my second year, hoping to leave a despairing feeling to readers. I originally wrote this as a very short story about an inanimate object, but I turned it into a poem. Mr.Bear represents those who have felt pushed away or abandoned, as not just recalling the worst day of their life but also the years following it. I feel it connects to Withering, the feeling of harsh realities that occur within our relationships with other people, and not being able to completely move on from something that has hurt us.