It slithered, crawled or glided

At the edge of my vision

**Dark, hunted, blurred lines**

**Yellow eyes**

****

No good amount of feet

Too many few

A sliver from the corner

But a ragdoll in direct view

It tilted its head sideways

A confused, lost puppy

With its mouth closed yet it betrayed

Teeth clenching at the tunnel of it’s throat

It’s voice was smooth

Warm caramel

As its demeanor turned cold

It hardened and crackled

**The ragdoll grew in patches,**

**Stitching tales upon its skin,**

Instead of cotton for its stuffing

It used nails and coins

A punch would surely hurt

So would a hug

Could I pick which one I wanted?

My eyelids grew heavy

But my stomach dropped

My sleep rattled with the possibility

Of waking up to blood and teeth

Could they blame me if in the morning

If a wishing fountain stood anew?

Could I even forgive myself

If it was cotton after all?

If a ragdoll was a puppet

And a creature that slithered, clawed or glided

Was a puppy?