Home
Available Now
Audubon
Edward C Benfold
USS BENFOLD
The Future
The Magic Of Winnie The Pooh
Affirmations
Accolades
From the mouth of Babes
About The Authors
Ceremonial First Copy
order blank
US Korea 2000 Foundation
Book Review
News Release
Coincidence
|
| Winnie the Pooh |
 |
| 'N' Tigger too |
| TTFN |
It's amazing what a stuffed bear can do to a little girl, not to mention the effect it had on a father . . . .
This poem is dedicated to my daughter Kristen Marie Edgar. It was a week before Thanksgiving. We had been in Dubai for a few days and would be underway for the holiday. To be honest, I wasn't looking forward to it. Petty Officer First Class Wilmington came by to give me my mail. Knowing I hadn't received any mail in a couple of weeks, she jokingly said: "Looks like somebody loves you." It was a care package with magazines and letters. Sports Illustrated was great, because we only get scores and a brief writeup when we're underway. When I was done, I knew that my fellow shipmates would also enjoy reading them. Receiving letters from my in-laws is always a joy. My wife sent some smoked sausage, which was enjoyed a week later with fellow shipmates while we were watching a movie. I also had two letters, one of which caught my eye; when I opened it, inside was a Winnie the Pooh pin and a brief note from my daughter: "Daddy, TTFN. (Ta Ta For Now!) I remember my last phone conversation with my daughter: she kept talking about Winnie the Pooh, Honey Pot, Tigger,; and me reading to her. Recalling this conversation brought tears to my eyes. I always tell her "TTFN" on the phone or in my letters. She always tries to say "TTFN", but gets excited and leaves out the "F". In remembering this, I was compelled to write "The Magic of Winnie the Pooh". (Usually, when I write poems, the rough part is done in thirty minutes with another half hour to smooth it out: for this poem, I was done in twenty minutes and only made two changes).
In all of my other poems, I was inspired by my shipmates or by events taking place around me. This one, however, was personal and was meant to be for my daughter. When YN1 Wood came by and I asked her to tell me what she thought, she was speechless (and thaat doesn't happen very often). Before I knew it, other friends asked to read it and they told me it reminded them of their child or of their children. Thus, what started out as a personal poem for my daughter became one I shared with my shipmates . . . Now if THAT'S not magic, I don't know what is!
Needless to say, I was ready for Thanksgiving - - - thanks to my daughter and Winie the Pooh and friends. |
| The Magic of Winnie the Pooh |
I got a letter from home the other day:
My wife had a message she wished to relay.
My daughter said "TTFN",
And with it was a Winnie the Pooh pin.
He's just a stuffy old cuddly bear,
Walking or dancing like he has no care.
My child does not know he's just a storybook tale:
She just hugs onto him when she wants to yell.
WIthout a hesitation or even a clue,
When she thinks of her Daddy, she picks up her Pooh.
When I am there, she has the comfort of my stare;
When I am gone, she has Mommy and that silly old bear.
We can walk through the store, and of all of the the toys
It's Winnie the Pooh that gives her the most joy.
She laughs when he is on, and when Tigger starts to bounce,
Especially when he gets ready to pounce.
All she knows is that I'm on a ship, and that I am gone;
She looks for me at the break of dawn;
She clutches onto her Winnie the Pooh bear:
"DADDY, COME HOME", she says with a stare.
Danny K. Edgar
|
|