The Sleepover, by Pat Severin

“The Sleepover,” read by Pat Severin.

The Sleepover

by Pat Severin

I can’t believe it. Mom said, “Yes.”
The gang sleeps here tonight.
I’ve got the greatest evening planned
For Tommy, Jim and Mike.

The sleeping bags will line my room.
My games will fill the floor.
We’ll watch the movie that we got,
A Monster’s in the Store.

The doorbell rings. Some guys are here!
“Hey, guys, just toss them there.
Come on with me, my room’s all set.
Bring sleeping bags upstairs.”

Still waiting till Mike’s dad pulls up.
I hear the car. He’s here!
“Come on upstairs,” I shout to Mike.
“Who wants a cold root beer?”

We grab our pop and head upstairs.
We all spread out again.
We talk about important things,
Like baseball, school, and friends.

We make the pact we always make,
The one we call, “The Rule.”
If we see someone dozing off,
We’ll say, “Wake up. Not cool!”

And when eleven rolls around,
It soon will be the hour
Till everyone runs down the stairs,
Excited to devour…

The midnight snack that Mom has made
For all us hungry guys.
We check it out a hundred times
Before the time arrives.

And when it is that magic time,
I can’t believe it’s twelve.
Popcorn, pretzels, pizza, pop.
I tell them, “Help yourselves!”

And when we’re stuffed and cannot move,
We waddle back upstairs,
Crash on my bed, the floor, the rug—
There’s crashing everywhere!

We try so hard. “Resist!” we say.
“Don’t close your eyes! Don’t yawn!”
But then, just like our midnight snack,
All four of us are…GONE!

About the Poet

Pat Severin, a retired parochial teacher and member of SCBWI, has been writing poetry for many years. Her poems are regularly featured in The Agape Review and The Clayjar Review as well as three of the Southern Arizona Press Anthologies. Her personal ministry is sending cards of encouragement to those going through difficult health struggles.

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Photo Credit: Campjoyohio, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Modified by Veronica McDonald.