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.

Ellen Foos

Happily Ever After

We several siblings pulled together most of the time,
in one bedroom at first and then spread out into two.
Nighttime reading held us dangling over the edge of sleep.

We knew Peter Rabbit was disobedient and paid dearly.
The five Chinese brothers got busted for taking a chance.
These seemed to us like unfair deals,
while we fought and scrapped
for our rightful amount of cookies or covers.

Our nuns also told moral tales and would have us
pray to enter the biggest fairy kingdom of them all;
the blanket large, the stories no longer punishing.