"Without poetry, we lose our way."
—Joy Harjo, U.S. Poet Laureate & Academy of American Poets Chancellor
Read your favorite poet again.
Read some new poetry.
Find a new favorite poet.
Write some poetry.
Leave poems for people to find in public places.
Read poetry out loud to family and friends.
Dream a poem.
Throughout April, I'll be posting poems, some by me, some by others, as well as a series of lyrics to popular songs that double as exquisite poetry.
And this year, Poem in Your Pocket Day is April 29th! Every April, on Poem in Your Pocket Day, people celebrate by selecting a poem, carrying it with them, and sharing it with others throughout the day at schools, bookstores, libraries, parks, workplaces, and on Twitter using the hashtag #pocketpoem.
Poem in Your Pocket Day was originally initiated in 2002 by the Office of the Mayor, in partnership with the New York City Departments of Cultural Affairs and Education, as part of the city’s National Poetry Month celebration. In 2008, the Academy of American Poets took the initiative to all fifty United States, encouraging individuals around the country to join in and channel their inner bard. In 2016, the League of Canadian Poets extended Poem in Your Pocket Day to Canada.
Happy National Poetry Month!
To kick off the month, here is a lovely collection of haikus composed by poet Harryette Mullen during the 2020 COVID pandemic.
Conversation in Isolation
by Harryette Mullen
Neighbors nail the planks
dividing their yard from mine.
Our durable fence.
I walk half a block
before realizing I’ve
forgotten my mask.
One ant following
another, trusting we all
are going somewhere.
Stretched between two poles,
clothesline outside my window,
a robin’s rest stop.
Lemons fallen on
the sidewalk to be rescued
for my potpourri.
No one and nothing
touches me but this blue wind
with cool caresses.
https://poets.org/
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