The Otter Under My Bed
by Jihan
'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the homestead,
not a creature was stirring, 'cept me in my bed.
Tonight was the night, for I was thirteen years old.
There was an act to be done, or so to me my mother told.
When I was a wee one, I played by the stream.
But one day to my surprise, I heard a strangled scream.
Peering through the reeds, and the rushes so tall,
what would I find, but an otter so small.
I scooped it right up and brought it straight home,
for I could not leave it so scared and alone.
I tended his wounds, made sure 'twas fed.
And gradually it became the otter under my bed.
I'd take him out from under each day after school.
We'd play constantly in the sandbox, in the pool.
We were the best of friends, year after year,
but tonight I knew the end was here.
I brought him out as us'ual, just as my mom had said.
I knew I had to say goodbye to the otter under my bed.
Back to the stream I sent him, with tears of joy and pain.
I didn't know if I would see him ever again.
We spent many a time together; we were meant to be.
Fate had put us together, the otter under my bed and me!