Teddy Bear

You fight off the nightmares so I may hibernate in whimsy. The shadows under my bed and creaking floorboards cower. You bear no steel, just brown curls, a scuffed nose and crooked eyes; an orange thread that connects your snout, that I still kiss goodnight. A small rope coils around your neck, that I once thought kept it in place. Brown string defines your paws, I hold gently in my cradle. No claws, no fangs, just love and hope. You are the silent protector. The defender of the dreamy. The king of the forest.