We made up the rules as we went
That’s how the bulk of the summer was spent
Wading through heather
Lazing on limbs
Wasting the day any way on a whim

Nobody saw him like me
A real jungle cat, not just fabric and string
Muscle and fiber
Rustling fur
It’s all so hazy now I can’t be sure

Was he a toy or a tiger
Bouncing downhill in that radio flyer
And was it all real
Or did I pretend?
I don’t know but
He was my friend

He’d wait by the door after school
I’d come home whistling and next thing I knew
We were tumbling backward
Hunter and prey
Still nice to know someone missed me all day

Was he a toy or a tiger
Partner in crime and my trusted advisor
And was it all real
Or did I pretend?
I don’t know but
He was my friend
So what was a memory
And what was a dream
And what would it matter
If it’s all the latter
It still was the whole world to me

We couldn’t find him one night
Mom called his name and my dad held the light
But he finally got found
In the field on the ground
I still taste the tears
When I think of it now

Was he a toy or a tiger
Bouncing downhill in that radio flyer
And was it all real
Or did I pretend?
All I know is he was my
Tender and toothsome
Water balloon-some
Fly to the moon-some
Sunday cartoon-some
Real or pretend
He was my friend