The Mysterious Disappearance Of An Imaginary Friend Poem by Patrick William Kavanagh

Feeling lost and bored, I climbed into the apple tree, but did not find you there,
In the crawl-space underneath the house, I found a sleepy little mouse,
a cricket, and a lonely louse,
I looked inside our little lair, but there was neither hide nor hair,
And now I've checked in all our favourite spots, I must admit,
I cannot find you anywhere!

I cannot quite remember when I'd noticed you were gone,
You must have slipped away and never said goodbye,
Thinking back on all the happy summer days we shared,
Knowing what it meant to have a friend who really cared,
I can't believe that when you left, I never even cried.

You were there, for all the times, when no one else came out to play.
We wandered miles, just you and I, to all the magic places and we stayed out unafraid, until the very end of day.
The woods were never dark and lonely, you could tell the names of all the trees,
And we would lie upon the leafy ground and listen to the buzzing of the bees.
The long hot days were spent with all our forest friends, I thought those happy days would never end,
Those days of solitude and ease.

You even spoke to all the birds and they would land beside us,
While butterflies would fly about, and ladybugs would nestle in my hair.
You listened kindly to my every tale of woe, you helped me do the very things I never thought I'd dare,
You brought me joy and comfort and companionship and trust.
But now I look in all our little places and I cannot find you there.

19/12/12
New Holland