DAY TWENTY-FOUR!! Celebrating "Poem in Your Pocket Day" for #NationalPoetryMonth + #‎pocketpoem‬

Just a heads up - I won't be sharing any guidelines on what type of poem to write today - but I DO hope your write one ~ using any method you choose; perhaps about poetry, or not ... up to you. I also hope you can choose a favorite poem, print it off and share it with others today. Fun stuff!!

 (cute poem pocket pic found at  

Mrs. Gilchrist's Class blog - GREAT ideas if you are a teacher

Thanks, Mrs. Gilchrist!!)

So, WHAT is "Poem in Your Pocket Day?"

The idea is simple: select a poem that you love during National Poetry Month then carry it with you to share with co-workers, family, and friends. Poems from pockets will be unfolded throughout the day with events in parks, libraries, schools, workplaces, and bookstores across the nation.

Check out this article from the Examiner about "Poem in Your Pocket Day" 

~ there's a hashtag for your social media today: #‎pocketpoem‬

Here are some ideas on HOW to celebrate "Poem in Your Pocket Day" (PIYP) ~ taken from an article found at Poets.org

In this age of mechanical and digital reproduction, it's easy to carry a poem, share a poem, or start your own PIYP day event. Here are some ideas of how you might get involved:

Start a "poems for pockets" give-a-way in your school or workplace Urge local businesses to offer discounts for those carrying poems Post pocket-sized verses in public places Hand-write some lines on the back of your business cards Start a street team to pass out poems in your community Distribute bookmarks with your favorite immortal lines Add a poem to your email footer Post a poem on your blog or social networking page Project a poem on a wall, inside or out Text a poem to friends Help expand the list: send your ideas to npm@poets.org.  HERE Is the poem I will have in my pocket today - there are SO many to choose from but I've always liked this one on friendship: To A Friend You entered my life in a casual way, And saw at a glance what I needed; There were others who passed me or met me each day, But never a one of them heeded. Perhaps you were thinking of other folks more, Or chance simply seemed to decree it; I know there were many such chances before, But the others--well, they didn't see it. You said just the thing that I wished you would say, And you made me believe that you meant it; I held up my head in the old gallant way, And resolved you should never repent it. There are times when encouragement means such a lot, And a word is enough to convey it; There were others who could have, as easy as not— But, just the same, they didn't say it. There may have been someone who could have done more To help me along, though I doubt it; What I needed was cheering, and always before They had let me plod onward without it. You helped to refashion the dreams of my heart, And made me turn eagerly to it; There were others who might have (I question that part)— But, after all, they didn't do it! © Grace Stricker Dawson (found in the 1936 edition of "Best Loved Poems of the American People")