New Year’s

I am eight and it is
New Year’s Eve,
Susan is babysitting
Penny is her XO
I am trouble
Sarah is six
David is four
Mary is a baby.
Parents are out.
We get to stay up till
Midnight if we can
Watching whatever
Comes on TV making
Popcorn wishing we
Had some soft drinks.
We build blanket houses
In the TV room using
Clothespins blankets
And rope trying to stay
Awake until midnight.
David and Mary are
Sound asleep but the
Rest of us haul pots and
Pans onto the front porch
And at the New Year beat
A clatter of noises plus
Shouts welcoming the
New Year glad to have
Been so grown up
And at last ready
And willing to
Slump off to
Bed and
Sleep,
No candy
No presents
No turkey
But the
Self-awareness
That we are more
Grown up and
Have broken
The normal
Rules and
Now can
Rest.