Poem in Your Pocket Day

03/31/2023

Poem in Your Pocket Day – April 29^th

April is National Poetry Month, as I am sure you all know. With a whole month to celebrate poetry, do not forget about Poem in Your Pocket Day on April 29^th. Originally the poem, “Poem in Your Pocket”, written by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers, advises you to carry a poem in your pocket and a picture in your head. That way when you are home in your bed at night you will never be alone. The little poem will make us sing and the picture in your head will bring sweet dreams.

On Poem in Your Pocket Day, encourage patrons to share a small poem that means something to them. It can be a poem by a favorite poet or a poem they write on their own. Poems come in all shapes and sizes, so it could be a one-line poem or many lines, Haiku or narrative, or lyrical. All poems are welcomed.

What a great way to bring a community together by sharing meaningful poetry. Download the activity page here to get patrons started, then share them throughout your library.

Now is a good time to start pulling poetry from your shelves to give patrons a little help if needed. Here are a few poets that you could pull: 

1. Roald Dahl
2. Maya Angelou
3. E.E. Cummings
4. A.A. Milne
5. Ralph Waldo Emerson
6. Amanda Gorman
7. Nikki Grimes
8. Juan Felipe Herrera

Here is one of my all-time favorite poems to get you started. The poem is from The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein.