Catilda

If you listen,

you may hear Catilda

singing sadly.

She misses

her teddy bear, Ollie,

whom she's lost

on a trip to the city.

If you listen,

you will hear

her parents creeping

up the stairs,

talking about the child

they have put

snugly to bed.

They hear only silence.

If you watch,

you will see everything

those parents

don't suspect --

everything

that a child's love

for a teddy bear

can lead to.

John Stadler

has told his loving story

with the lightest

of touches

and painted it

with the lightness

of air.