Keep A Poem in Your Pocket Day

Pocket Poem
If this comes creased and creased again and soiled
as if I’d opened it a thousand times
to see if what I’d written here was right,
it’s all because I looked too long for you
to put in your pocket. Midnight says
the little gifts of loneliness come wrapped
by nervous fingers. What I wanted this
to say was that I want to be so close
that when you find it, it is warm from me.

Keep A Poem in Your Pocket Day April 21, 2916
The idea is simple: select poems you love, carry them with you, then share it with co-workers, family, and friends.
This event was created by the City of New York in 2002, and became a nationwide festivity in 2009.

In the past, librarians have distributed poems to local hospitals in Charlottesville, Virginia, and winesellers in San Fransisco, California handed out books of short poems to shoppers.
According to NPR,people across the country are celebrating in unique ways this year. A sandwich vendor in Charlottesville, Virginia is putting poems in the sack lunches, rather than the customary chocolate chip cookie. A third-grade teacher in Pennsylvania had her students sew pockets on their shirts since many have no easily accessible pockets.

Poets.org recommends handwriting "some lines on the back of your business cards" or distributing "bookmarks with your favorite immortal lines."

If you're at a loss for which lines you'd like to share, printable poems can be found at Poets.org:

I am sharing today a poem from one of my favorite poets

The Lesson
by Billy Collins

In the morning when I found History
snoring heavily on the couch,
I took down his overcoat from the rack
and placed its weight over my shoulder blades.

It would protect me on the cold walk
into the village for milk and the paper
and I figured he would not mind,
not after our long conversation the night before.

How unexpected his blustering anger
when I returned covered with icicles,
the way he rummaged through the huge pockets
making sure no major battle or English queen
had fallen out and become lost in the deep snow.

Friday Healthy Asian Inspired Meals

Teriyaki Salmon Broccoli Bowl