Five siblings inherit a blanket. They lie beneath it, together, to stay warm.
          But arms and legs stick out and the siblings squabble and tug. They do
          not realize that they would all fit if they just moved closer together.

This is the Blanket Story. Poets, artists, and musicians have responded to this tale in creative ways. All poems appear here, our ONLINE POETRY SHOWCASE. Visit our main page to find out more about the project.

Rosemary O'Neil Wright

Harmony

We outgrew each other, planned our farewell.
Gus started singing, Siblings of my heart
although we now must part. No Bob Dylan
but I choked up. Until Ten feet and fifty toes
travelin’ along the roads. I giggled
then wheezed.  Smart mouth Richard
began, Ten eyes and a thousand lashes
leading to a hundred clashes. I howled.
In the heat of the moment I squeezed
Julie’s hand, though we’ve had our
differences. I saw tears in her eyes
and all those lashes, started
to hiccup. Amy sang
This Little Light of Mine. Gus joined, then
Richard and I, even Julie, made up songs
kept going half the night.
 
So we started over, the five of us.
No bed of roses, not even daisies.
Gus snores, Richard drinks, Amy has nightmares.
Julie wants her Pekingese in bed.  Sometimes
I think I’ll scream. Then somebody starts
to sing.