Poem In Your Pocket Day!

Is that a Poem in Your Pocket?

We’re in the last days of National Poetry Month, and I’m celebrating to the very end.

Here’s how:

1.
Share Poems
Poem In Your Pocket Day is on Thursday, April 27, 2023. Pick a poem (or write your own), carry it with you, and share it with others. I like to mail poems to friends & family, combining my favorite things: poetry and the personal letter.

Sometimes I place poems in random spots: the coffeeshop bulletin board, on a car windshield, beneath a dinner plate. At the library, I slip poems into books as a sort of secret between readers.

2.
Write About You
Almost everyone will say they can’t write — but of course they can! Because almost everyone likes to tell about themselves, the Six Word Memoir is an excellent gateway to poetry. It’s fun, easy, and sorta addictive. Once you start, your mind seems to sort everything into six word increments.

3.
Listen to Poems
Like playing a piano or singing a song, cadence and pace make a poem. Poetry shines with the music of language. When you listen, rather than read, the experience can shift you out of critical mind and into a playful, often more powerful, experience. I get a daily dose here.

4.
Start Now
Writing is free. No license, permit, or permission required. Write a line, read a poem, imagine a story. No rules or regulations, no excuses or explanations. Don’t think you can? Way back when, this book got me started (and keeps me going): Writing Down The Bones: Freeing the Writing Within.

Start now.

Make something.

Need a poem to share on Poem In Your Pocket Day?
Here’s one of my latest favorites: The Cities Inside Us