Every now and then, there’s a day when you just don’t want to get out of bed. Rather than take on the new day, you just want to stay under the blankets and sleep. I wrote this poem because I started thinking about all the wild, imaginative reasons someone might have for staying in bed—things that are so strange, they would drive just about anyone back to bed. While you can take this poem at face value, reading it as though these crazy things actually happened to the narrator, you should also consider other possibilities. Perhaps the narrator is still asleep and dreaming. Or maybe they’ve just come up with a harebrained excuse to avoid facing the day. No matter how you interpret it, sometimes it feels like it’s just easier to stay under the covers when things get too weird!
Bed Instead
This morning I woke up
and what did I see?
My houseplants were waving
good morning to me.
I thought this was odd, so
I looked all around.
My sneakers were tap-dancing
down on the ground.
My clothing was strolling.
My books flew like birds.
My games were patrolling
my bedroom in herds.
My toys and my backpack
were having a fight.
They looked like they must have
been at it all night!
If anyone needs me,
just tell them I said
it’s too weird today so
I’ve gone back to bed.
— Kenn Nesbitt
