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
I thought I lost him one night
Mom called his name and my dad held the light
But he finally got found
As sleep 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