Once long ago I belonged to a boy
I was a porcelain soldier dressed toy
Life was as perfect as perfect could be
I thought it’d always be him and me
But as the years passed he thought of himself
I was abandoned up here on the shelf
He moved away and it left me nonplussed
Nothing to do but sit and collect dust
Years went on by
I’d wonder why
So old and numb
Waiting for someone to come!
Finally one cold an blustery day
This old man found me and took me away
Stuffed in a box without one speck of light
Hoping my future would turn out alright
Oh, what was to become of this toy soldier so withered and old
What destination awaited
Wondering now just where I would go
When he unboxed me it stunned me to see
A porcelain woman who looked just like me
I was delighted and to my surprise
I caught the very same gleam in her eyes
We knew it was love though we’d only just met
But it was clear we completed the set
And I was thoroughly beside myself
When I was placed next o her on the shelf
Oh, what a thrill to finally
have somebody so precious and dear
And unlike a child who grows
She will stay with me come year after year
This story broke my heart as a child. Every time I read it, I would search the words over and over, willing the words into a happy ending, but it never said that.