Little Bunny– Inner Child Piece

October 23, 2024

Writer: Marlenie Menjivar

I met you when you were seven years old

It was love at first sight

Your wide, curious eyes and chubby, rosy cheeks 

And a bright, unabashed smile 

Full of gaps your adult teeth would eventually fill out

You simply adored my plush brown fur

My long, floppy ears

My sweet little voice box

That sung neverending “I love you’s” 

And my cute button-pink nose 

You named me Hoppy

Such an obvious choice for a bunny toy

But it made you happy

I made you happy

Pure and innocent

we both were.

Untainted by age

Blind to the harsh truths of life

Bound by our naivety of the real world

And that was how we spent our days together

Cozied up on the couch watching Saturday morning cartoons 

Snuggling up in the car on long road trips with dad

Comforting you at night when the dark felt a little too scary

I loved our care-free, fun-filled days 

But most fantasies don’t last

And you couldn’t stay a kid forever

The years flew by 

7 years old, 12 years old, 15 years old

You got older

Life got harder

But I stayed the same

A childish little bunny toy

Your adult teeth grew in 

But you started hiding your smile

Because you hated how it made you look

You stopped being curious 

Because life expected order and perfection 

Not inquisitiveness nor eccentricity

You were still just a kid

Completely insecure 

And burdened with expectation 

But life wanted you to grow up already

I was the part of you that you no longer wanted to see

Wholly different from the person you desperately needed to be 

It pained me to be put away 

All alone in my closet prison 

I should have resented you

For the way you deserted me

But you were just doing as you were told

Like any model child would

Forced to believe the lies told by grown-ups

That the only way to grow up

To succeed

Was to forget me 

I met you again when you were 20 years old 

It was like no time had passed at all

Your lips upturned into that all too familiar smile 

The one that I adore

You were the same little girl that I remembered

From all those years ago

But now I have changed 

My plush brown fur 

Now a dirt-colored, matted mess

My little pink nose, now torn into loose threads

My sweet voice box no longer sings 

But my love remains

Even with all these little changes 

Between You and I 

That has spanned across both of our lifetimes

The remnants still remain 

Of the happiness, we brought each other 

Buried deep into our very being

I am the part of you that you may not want at times 

But the part that you still need to feel complete

To remind you of the joy of living 

And the gift of memories

Every time you tune back into your favorite old cartoons

Every time you listen to a song from your childhood

Every new little trinket you add to your growing collection

Life 

Even in all its misfortune 

I hope you hold on to these quiet moments of happiness 

I hope when you look at me now

Your Hoppy 

Your little bunny 

You remember that seven-year-old girl

And you love who she was and the person she is now 

Just like I first did 

All those years ago