As I drove out to work today
I saw upon the road a bear
A moment's glimpse of foam and fur
That had no purpose being there.

I didn't slow as I went past,
With greater matters on my mind.
One quick look and it was gone,
The man had left the toy behind.

My thoughts strayed once more to the bear,
And the roadside where it lay.
Lost by some poor child there
As they too sped upon their way.

Had it been thrown deliberately?
A child's response to a parent's shouting.
A victim of a clash of wills,
Upon a hard-earned family outing.

Perhaps a child had simply dropped
The bear upon the muddy ground,
As they glanced through an open window.
Lost, and never to be found.

A simple toy, but filled with dreams,
What impact will it's loss have had
Upon that child in years passed?
Will dreams have shattered? Hopes turned bad?

I want to stop the car and go
Back to the scene I left behind.
Leave my job and spend my time,
Searching, praying I might find

The boy or girl who'd dropped that bear,
And give them back that youthful spark.
A light to set them on their way
And protect them from Life's dark.

I smile sadly and remember
How I too lost a precious bear.
Was I shaped by this event?

I stop the car, my journey done.
I focus on the job before.
Childhood thoughts pushed from my mind.
They cannot matter any more.